Packers Offseason/Free Agency Thread

[Joemailman]

Unrestricted Free Agents

TE Tyler Davis

TE Josiah Deguara

RB A.J. Dillon

S Johnathan Ford

OT Yosh Nijman

CB Kelsean Nixon

S Jonathan Owens

G Jon Runyan

S Darnell Savage

S Christian Uphoff

LB Eric Wilson

Restricted/Exclusive-Rights Free Agents

S Zayne Anderson

OT Caleb Jones

WR Bo Melton

S Benny Rapp III

CB Robert Rochell

RB Patrick Taylor

P Daniel Whelan

[Joemailman]

Players with big cap hits who could be cut or have contracts restructured.

David Bakhtiari - Cap hit 40M

Kenny Clark - Cap hit - 27.5M

Aaron Jones - Cap hit 17M

De'vondre Campbell - 14.2M

[sharpe1027]

Deguara has to be their top priority to sign. There will probably be a bidding war for him.

[Tony Oday]

We need a vet, ballhawk Safety.

We need more playmaking ILBs

We need a viable 2nd string RB, I LOVE Dillon as a person but he is not a 2 he is a three. We need another guy to replace Jones when he is hurt.

Fire Joe Barry

[Joemailman]

MLF just finished his season ending PC. Has not met with any of coaches yet. Did not provide a timetable on when any coaching evaluations would take place. Coaches are currently meeting with players.

[Anti-Polar Bear]

Unlike Sullivan and Hyde, Nixon is an above average nickel corner and should be re-signed. Plus, he has special teams value.

Clark’s production ain’t worthy of the frogskins he’s getting. Time to let the Iranian Stallone go.

Free agent priorities: Safety and ILB.

[texaspackerbacker]

Yes, ILB is the biggest need. Very few of those get taken in the first round, though.

If we could get a guaranteed elite Safety, yeah, but I'm not nearly as negative about what we have as some people - Rudy Ford IMO has been excellent, Owens has been mostly good, Anthony Johnson (#36) has been decent, and as was said, Savage was ok late in the season. What I see is that all of those guys have been pretty good in this new Barry thing, 2 and 3 deep shell coverages, but single high Safety is a recipe for any of them to look bad.

For sure restructure Kenny Clark and Aaron Jones. Let Devondre Campbell go - unless insiders know something not observable about his being capable of a bounce back. They need to get the Dillon situation clarified before the draft. Yeah, I'd sign him very cheap, but I'm thinking some other team will think he's worth signing for more. If that happens, let him go and draft somebody like Braelon Allen in the 3rd round or so. Definitely tell the sacred cow to hit the road.

I would not draft an O Lineman early, no earlier than fourth. I've never been as negative about Runyan as some people, and he improved IMO late in the season. Re-sign him if it can be done without breaking the bank.

Absolutely re-sign Keisan Nixon and maybe draft a Corner in the mid rounds.

Conduct auditions for kickers. It almost certainly can't be hard to find a better one than Carlson.

[bobblehead]

It won't hurt to lose a single one of those unrestricted guys. I suspect a couple will be back for competition on cheapish deals.

Jones and Clark will be re signed/ restructured. Campbell and Bak are gone probably. (McDuffie played pretty well and made Campbell expendable).

If I guess at the unrestricted list I would say Wilson as a core ST guy is back at minimum deal. Same for Tyler Davis if he passes a physical. Of the safeties I think with a new DC Savage is back on a prove it deal. Ford if he is cheap because he is a good ST guy at a minimum and serviceable S in a pinch.

All the restricted guys will be offered minimum deals that they have to sign.

Edit: We have zero? safeties under contract except Johnson. You can't draft 7 of them. That is part of the reason I think Ford will be back at least. Then its just a crapshoot of not great guys who are out there. Its the reason I advocated signing a stud if there is one in FA....I read an article about one guy from Cleveland I think it was.

[run pMc]

Unrestricted Free Agents

TE Tyler Davis - offer a cheap 1 year deal, has ST value

TE Josiah Deguara - let him walk, they will look to get better at FB/HB.

RB A.J. Dillon - let him walk unless he wants to take a deep hometown discount. I think some team will make him a modest offer he'd be wise to take. Agree he's more of a very good RB3 than a meh RB2 and you can't pay those guys 2M a year.

S Johnathan Ford - offer him or Owens to 1 year deal for depth and ST value

OT Yosh Nijman - let him walk, he probably wants to compete for a starting role somewhere else at this point

CB Keisean Nixon - they'll want to get better here, but he has a lot of ST value. offer a 2Y/6-8M + incentives.

S Jonathan Owens - offer him or Ford to 1 year deal for depth and ST value

G Jon Runyan - let him walk

S Darnell Savage - let him walk, I think he'll want a new start. If no interest you bring him back cheap.

S Christian Uphoff - let him walk

LB Eric Wilson - bring him back on 1-year deal for ST value

Restricted/Exclusive-Rights Free Agents
Meh on all of them except Melton and Whelan. They'll probably bring some of them back for depth, competition and ST value. They'll all be cheap and are still under team control with RFA/ERFA status.



Cut Devondre, Keep Kenny & Preston, redo Jones' contract to keep him.
Bakhtiari is probably a goner but it's a whole thing in itself.

Probably redo Jaire or someone's contract to create more cap space. They have a lot of draft picks so they will continue to get younger and cheaper as their cap mess unwinds. I think they may wait until after the draft to bring back most of these players, none of these FAs are make-or-break signings except Nixon IMO.

[run pMc]

Anthony Johnson Jr. is the only safety under contract next year. They'll likely bring somebody back, but they will absolutely look at cheap FA and draft to get better there. It was a weakness this year.

[Tony Oday]

Getting rid of Campbell only saves $2.5 (i think) on cap so there is not way we find an ILB that is as good as him that cheap.

[Joemailman]

Getting rid of Campbell only saves $2.5 (i think) on cap so there is not way we find an ILB that is as good as him that cheap.

He really seems to have lost a step. Actually, I think there is a chance you can find a FA ILB for less than that. https://overthecap.com/free-agency

[Joemailman]

The Green Bay Packers signed LB Keshawn Banks (KEY-shawn), S Tyler Coyle, WR Grant DuBose, DL Jonathan Ford, CB Zyon Gilbert, CB Anthony Johnson, QB Alex McGough (ma-GOO), RB Ellis Merriweather, LB Arron Mosby, LB Kenneth Odumegwu (oh-doo-MAY-goo), FB Henry Pearson, WR Thyrick Pitts (thigh-rick), T Kadeem Telfort and TE Joel Wilson. General Manager Brian Gutekunst announced the transactions Monday.

All 14 players finished the season on the Packers' practice squad.

[RashanGary]

Kenny Clark is in the last year of his deal next year. It looks to me like he’s owed almost 40M more of cap hit. Quinnen Williams makes 24M. If Clark is extended for 3 years at 25M per year, plus the 40 he’s owed, it would be 4 years 115M total contract. 29M per year.


Yikes. But you can’t even think about the 40 he’s owed. That is what it is. It’s not going away. You have to think about the 25 per and if he’s with that, and I think he his.

Man, Aaron Rodgers was dead set on making sure the Packers wasted all of their resources on his shot so as to leave Love in a situation where his early career is digging out.

I think you resign Clark, then restructure with voids and eat it 4 years from now when the cap is higher. But it’s an unfortunate situation.

[texaspackerbacker]

All the negative crap spewed by ingrates about Rodgers and the cap situation he gets the blame for, yet the Packers have at very least a top five roster talent-wise.

[RashanGary]

Really, the big chunks of dead space left to eat are:

Bahktiari (20M)
Clark (20M) *but you spread that over his next deal and deal with it later
Jones (10M) *again, spread that over his deal and take it later


The rest of the contracts are in good shape. After this year we really only have 30M of dead space to eat, that we won’t eat for 4 years. 30M now is more like 20M 4 years from now. So honestly, if Gute doesn’t get unlucky with injuries AND doesn’t sign any bad deals, our cap situation is cleaned up after 2024.

[Bretsky]

All the negative crap spewed by ingrates about Rodgers and the cap situation he gets the blame for, yet the Packers have at very least a top five roster talent-wise.


Kaaron put the screws to GB really good

[RashanGary]

It’s going to be really interesting in 2 years to see who we end up keeping in the skill player group. The dreamer and schematic schemer in me hopes that Kraft and Musgrave become beasts so they are the two locks. After that, I think you want an elite speed guy on the outside so Watson finding health would be ideal. And then you replace the rest in the draft and get compensatory picks for them or trade them for something better than a compensatory if that’s an option.

It still has to play out. Reed and Wicks could become elite guys and they would be priority. Anything could happen. But I’m dreaming of a physically dominant offense that can run it down your throat and have all kinds of impossible to cover options in the passing game so I hope it’s a best case scenario for Musgrave, Kraft and Watson.

[run pMc]

Kenny Clark is in the last year of his deal next year. It looks to me like he’s owed almost 40M more of cap hit. Quinnen Williams makes 24M. If Clark is extended for 3 years at 25M per year, plus the 40 he’s owed, it would be 4 years 115M total contract. 29M per year.


Yikes. But you can’t even think about the 40 he’s owed. That is what it is. It’s not going away. You have to think about the 25 per and if he’s with that, and I think he his.

Man, Aaron Rodgers was dead set on making sure the Packers wasted all of their resources on his shot so as to leave Love in a situation where his early career is digging out.

I think you resign Clark, then restructure with voids and eat it 4 years from now when the cap is higher. But it’s an unfortunate situation.

https://overthecap.com/player/kenny-clark/4739
They pushed a big chunk of it into a void year, so some of that money won't hit until the year after his contract expires.
He does have a big cap hit, but not 40M. It's what happens when you play well enough to make it to your last year of your contract. Ask Aaron Jones about that.

I could see them doing an extension and play some games with the money, but I'd be leery of it. We've seen 3rd contracts not work out so well in the past (see: Bakhtiari, David). Outside of QB, I'm not sure a 3rd contract is a good idea (unless it's a series of 1 year deals), usually the player is too expensive and too old to make it worthwhile.

[run pMc]

It’s going to be really interesting in 2 years to see who we end up keeping in the skill player group. The dreamer and schematic schemer in me hopes that Kraft and Musgrave become beasts so they are the two locks. After that, I think you want an elite speed guy on the outside so Watson finding health would be ideal. And then you replace the rest in the draft and get compensatory picks for them or trade them for something better than a compensatory if that’s an option.

It still has to play out. Reed and Wicks could become elite guys and they would be priority. Anything could happen. But I’m dreaming of a physically dominant offense that can run it down your throat and have all kinds of impossible to cover options in the passing game so I hope it’s a best case scenario for Musgrave, Kraft and Watson.

which is why I think they should go back to the well in 2025 draft and take a WR on Day 2. I don't think they can or will keep all these guys, and some will flame out of not develop further along the way.
I think Reed and Wicks will be the ones getting most of the targets FWIW
I like Musgrave a lot but I think Kraft is a keeper

[run pMc]

Also - didn't see it on the list above, but I'd make an offer to Corey Ballentine as well. He's better in zone than man and ideally you want him on the PS or ST only, but he filled in admirably with Jaire/Stokes out.

[texaspackerbacker]

As I said, despite the whining about Rodgers, etc., the Packers were and are going forward a loaded team. We have at least 6 very high quality WRs and 2 possible star quality TEs plus a 3rd (hell no, not Deguara as somebody said, but Sims who is at least serviceable). I expect ALL of them to be retained going forward.

Yes, we should retain Aaron Jones. Dillon probably not unless nobody else wants him and he is dirt cheap - highly unlikely. I'd like to see a quality backup RB drafted about 3rd or 4th round - Braelin Allen would be ideal IMO.

I do NOT want an O Lineman early in the draft. Put the sacred cow out to pasture and don't mess with this year's O Line.

Our D Line evolved to be way above average, but we need to retain Kenny Clark. Our Edge Rusher group is excellent and getting better. I would retain Preston Smith but not for starter money on a restructure.

My tentative choice for a first round pick would be ILB. Let Campbell go even if not much is saved on the cap. Quay would be great as the second best ILB, but he isn't good enough to be #1.

I'm conflicted on Jaire. I'd like them to keep him, but he just doesn't seem worth the money he costs. I'd like to see them draft a hybrid Corner/Safety about 2nd or 3rd round, as all our young DBs are serviceable especially if Barry has the good sense to play zone D but none really stand out. Maybe we get lucky with a draft pick.

And lose the damn kicker - unless he somehow makes a miraculous improvement, If Jerry Jones can find Aubrey, we ought to be able to find somebody on the street (or soccer field) almost as good. At least 30 guys good enough to be college kickers graduate every year. I'd bet at least half of them are better than Carlson.

[Fritz]

I hope the Packers don't go sinking big money into an free agents. This is not yet the time. They still need to get out from under this year's coming cap mess. They've got to sort out Bakh's contract, Kenny Clark's, Aaron Jones's.

[Joemailman]

I hope the Packers don't go sinking big money into an free agents. This is not yet the time. They still need to get out from under this year's coming cap mess. They've got to sort out Bakh's contract, Kenny Clark's, Aaron Jones's.

They don't have the cap room to spend big money on free agents this year. I would expect some minor signings at S and ILB.

[ThunderDan]

They don't have the cap room to spend big money on free agents this year. I would expect some minor signings at S and ILB.

I was playing around at OverTheCap.com, the Packers could have around $23 Million if you get rid of Bakh and Campbell. You need probably 10-15 of that for rookies and resigning Packers' free agents. That only leaves 8 - 13 for free agents and signing someone mid-season if a player gets hurt.

[call_me_ishmael]

Yeah for sure, I don't think they should go all in on a bunch of free agents. Realistically, I think the org probably thinks they overachieved this year and were a year ahead of schedule. I think they need another year to resolve the pushing-the-money-out situation. I would resign the guys they have and want, but _not_ continue pushing money out. Just get the cap healthy so they'll have some room _next_ year.

IMO, the window should look like this:
2024-2025 is about getting back to divisional round and doing it again
2025-2028 is about being a super bowl candidate

[run pMc]

They are going to extend Love when May hits, pretty sure they will set aside some cap space for that.
They will NOT be a major player in FA, but they aren't in as bad shape as last offseason where they basically had to dumpster dive. Honestly 2025 is the year for FA. The '22 and '23 draft classes will be starting to peak (in theory) and they will have cleared a lot of their bad contracts and cap hits.

Based on his player and roster evaluations, I'm glad tex isn't the GM. I suppose you could say that for a lot of us.

[RashanGary]

The majority of the cap problems are resolved with Rodgers and Bakh off the books after this year.

But 20 from Clark and 12 from Jones are unusual dead caps to be paid after they leave or spread out over new deals.

32M spread out over 3 years is about 10M per year in dead weight assuming both get new deals.

Projected salary cap
2024 240
2025 260
2026 280

So it’s about 3.5% of the salary cap is wasted on dead space over that time. It’s not too bad.

[RashanGary]

Really, for all intents and purposes, the cap is cleaned up after this year. If Jaire can’t get healthy, that’s a decent chunk wasted. But the Packers are in a healthy situation heading into Jordan Loves second contract.

[texaspackerbacker]

I won't say the cap is irrelevant, but supposedly we have huge problem with it this year, and our roster could be called top 2 or 3 in the league and almost certainly is top 5 or 6 in the league - just sayin' hahahahaha.

[Sparkey]

Getting rid of Campbell only saves $2.5 (i think) on cap so there is not way we find an ILB that is as good as him that cheap.

Post June. 1 and it saves them 10mil.

[RashanGary]

I won't say the cap is irrelevant, but supposedly we have huge problem with it this year, and our roster could be called top 2 or 3 in the league and almost certainly is top 5 or 6 in the league - just sayin' hahahahaha.

250 mil over 5 years is 1.25B

If you spread out a 100M loss over 5 years, it’s like an 8% loss of the cap for that mistake, spread out over that span.


Drafting like Gute has over the last 2 years makes up for any type of 10% loss.



Ideally you’re trying to get to the very very top. To win a championship. You can draft well, but then maybe you don’t have the top tier player under contract to really stabilize the young team. Or you can have ideal vets under contract and no wasted money, but you don’t draft well for a few years and you can’t get over the top.

There are a lot of ways to skin a cat, but really, it’s nice to have every advantage because it’s pretty long odds to finish 1 of 32 and that’s the goal.

[RashanGary]

What I’m trying to illustrate Tex, in my above post, is that yeah, the cap is yearly and the total spent over 5 years is a lot. So to your point, these (30M) losses that we talk about as being almost 15% of the cap is a great exaggeration because there are ways to spread the mistake over a span of time by restructuring other deals to spread it out.

I’m kind of with you that it’s relevant, but not as drastic as the common view paints it.

[RashanGary]

I don’t think you want 5 100M dollar mistakes. Even spread out over 5 years, that’s still 40% of the cap and truly, there wouldn’t be too many ways to overcome that.

[ThunderDan]

At OverTheCap.com, we have 1 player under contract for 2027. That is Rashan Gary. We already have 3 players with cap hits who don't have contracts for 2027 costing us $4.68 million. Of course, if those players get cut earlier, the cap hit gets moved forward into earlier years.

I am a huge advocate of not kicking the can down the road. I guess that is why I liked TT as our GM so much until he lost it the last few years.

[bobblehead]

Really, the big chunks of dead space left to eat are:

Bahktiari (20M)
Clark (20M) *but you spread that over his next deal and deal with it later
Jones (10M) *again, spread that over his deal and take it later


The rest of the contracts are in good shape. After this year we really only have 30M of dead space to eat, that we won’t eat for 4 years. 30M now is more like 20M 4 years from now. So honestly, if Gute doesn’t get unlucky with injuries AND doesn’t sign any bad deals, our cap situation is cleaned up after 2024.

Its largely fixed by cutting Bak this year. If we do that we are something like 12 million of cap space available. Then a couple tweaks here and there as needed. We will be in a space where we won't lose anyone we want to keep.

[bobblehead]

https://overthecap.com/player/kenny-clark/4739
They pushed a big chunk of it into a void year, so some of that money won't hit until the year after his contract expires.
He does have a big cap hit, but not 40M. It's what happens when you play well enough to make it to your last year of your contract. Ask Aaron Jones about that.

I could see them doing an extension and play some games with the money, but I'd be leery of it. We've seen 3rd contracts not work out so well in the past (see: Bakhtiari, David). Outside of QB, I'm not sure a 3rd contract is a good idea (unless it's a series of 1 year deals), usually the player is too expensive and too old to make it worthwhile.

IIRC Clark was young when drafted. If you sign him for 3 and make the last year a bigger number for his optics it can work where you eat 10 mil dead space.

[texaspackerbacker]

Yeah, getting rid of the sacred cow will supposedly go a long way to fixing things along with, famously, having Rodgers money come off the books. And we are extremely fortunate to have an outstanding roster now at generally bargain prices, BUT, over the next few years, there is a LOT of money that will need to be spent to retain our young star quality players, not to even mention free agents from elsewhere (I saw an article that the Packers should sign Antoine Wingfield, a very good idea IMO). When the time comes over the next few years, we need to again push the limits of the cap. One of the usual suspects posted above that he liked the Ted Thompson way of doing things. Hell no, that's NOT what we need. We absolutely need to spend as much as it takes to keep Love, the young WRs and TEs when the time comes, extend Aaron Jones and Kenny Clark and maybe Preston Smith, etc. etc. etc.

Use/manipulate/push the limits of the cap, DON'T go all Ted Thompson.

[RashanGary]

In a perfect world, here’s the ultimate cap manipulation Super Bowl

Your team falls apart
You have the most cap space in the league and few long term deals
You front load with yearly guarantees vs signing bonus
You draft your star QB
You have epic drafts with tons of talent
You fill in the missing pieces with FA
You start to backload


Boom, 10 year run of dominance

[Fritz]

Well, if as run said, we go "dumpster diving," then let's pick up guys like Devondre Campbell a few years ago, and Rasul Douglas.

Who said dumpster diving can't be profitable?

You just have to have the scouts and the resources for them to do the work.

The Lions have not done as well in this area because all the scouts were fighting to see who got to do the background interview with Aiden Hutchinson's mom.

https://phantom-marca.unidadeditorial.es/e6b8bf78c71ebca0661dc75e874c4e94/resize/828/f/webp/assets/multimedia/imagenes/2022/04/29/16511835479500.jpg

[Joemailman]

Packers Strength and conditioning coordinator Chris Gizzi has been fired.

[Joemailman]

Packers have signed a kicker. Not wasting any time sending a message.

https://packerswire.usatoday.com/2024/01/24/packers-signing-former-vikings-kicker-jack-podlesny/?taid=65b16a1ff47c880001e99381&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=twitter


The Green Bay Packers are signing kicker Jack Podlesny to the offseason 90-man roster, according to Bill Huber of Packer Central.

Coach Matt LaFleur said the Packers were open to competition at kicker for Anders Carlson, who missed a 41-yard field goal during the team’s NFC Divisional Round loss to the San Francisco 49ers and ended the season with misses in 10 of the final 12 games, including the postseason.

For now, the competition will be Podlesny, who went undrafted out of Georgia in 2023. He spent part of training camp with the Minnesota Vikings but was released in mid-August.

The Packers worked out Podlesny (along with Parker White) in September.

Over three seasons at Georgia, Podlesny made 60 of 73 field goals (82.2 percent) and 182 of 184 extra points (98.9). During his redshirt senior season in 2022, Podlesny missed only four kicks (26 of 29 on field goals, 73 of 74 on extra points). During the College Football Playoffs in 2022, he made 3-of-5 field goals and 12-of-13 extra points. He missed from 47 yards and 52 yards but his extra point gave Georgia a 42-41 win over Ohio State in the semifinal.

Podlesny, a two-time national champion at Georgia, participated at the Senior Bowl ahead of the 2023 draft.

[Joemailman]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GEnX01oXAAAomqn?format=jpg&name=small

[run pMc]

Packers have signed a kicker. Not wasting any time sending a message.

https://packerswire.usatoday.com/2024/01/24/packers-signing-former-vikings-kicker-jack-podlesny/?taid=65b16a1ff47c880001e99381&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=twitter


From https://www.acmepackingcompany.com/2024/1/24/24049506/green-bay-packers-news-roster-update-sign-kicker-jack-podlesny-first-team-all-sec

As a redshirt senior, Podlesny was named both a First-Team All-SEC kicker and the SEC’s Special Teams Player of the Year. His career totals at Georgia were 61 field goals made out of 74 attempts (82 percent) with a 64 percent touchback percentage (86 of 134). For perspective, Carlson was 79 of 110 (72 percent) on field goals with a 58 percent touchback percentage (183 of 313) during his SEC career.


Per wikipedia (I know I know) here's Mason Crosby's college numbers:
66 of 88 FG (75%), 109 of 117 XP (93.2%) and138 TB on 203 KOs over 50 games, with a reputation for kicking in the clutch (10/10 FG in last 8.5 minutes). Also hit FGs of 56, 58 and 60 yards.

[texaspackerbacker]

Packers have signed a kicker. Not wasting any time sending a message.

https://packerswire.usatoday.com/2024/01/24/packers-signing-former-vikings-kicker-jack-podlesny/?taid=65b16a1ff47c880001e99381&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=twitter

This guy's impressive on paper, and in the SEC, same as Carlson - not like he's doing it against crap opponents

[RashanGary]

This guy's impressive on paper, and in the SEC, same as Carlson - not like he's doing it against crap opponents

Does the opponent matter when you’re kicking field goals? I would think your snapper and holder are more impactful than whoever is lined up on the other side. I suppose the one block a year could factor in, but barely.

[Joemailman]

There's just so much more pressure on a kicker in the NFL than there is on kickers in college. Every kick is magnified because the games are closer. Packers had 8 games this year decided by 4 points or less. You don't really know what you have in a kicker going from college to the NFL until the pressure is on.

[run pMc]

There's just so much more pressure on a kicker in the NFL than there is on kickers in college. Every kick is magnified because the games are closer. Packers had 8 games this year decided by 4 points or less. You don't really know what you have in a kicker going from college to the NFL until the pressure is on.

Agree. there's a lot of scrutiny and pressure.
Also the hashes are different in pros, the size and speed of the players too (obvs).



Does the opponent matter when you’re kicking field goals? I would think your snapper and holder are more impactful than whoever is lined up on the other side. I suppose the one block a year could factor in, but barely.

I don't think so, unless you are facing a really clever ST coach who schemes up wacky block or return calls.
I would think things like weather conditions, field conditions, and even altitude would be more important.
The kicking "operation" - snapper & holder - are most important. We learned that from Bojorquez and Hunter Bradley.

[texaspackerbacker]

Yeah, that pressure was what I was talking about. Georgia against some other high level SEC team is about the nearest you can get to the way it is in the NFL.

Bringing in this guy is a start, but I hope they bring in several more and start the competition out even, no advantage for Carlson.

[bobblehead]

https://overthecap.com/player/kenny-clark/4739
They pushed a big chunk of it into a void year, so some of that money won't hit until the year after his contract expires.
He does have a big cap hit, but not 40M. It's what happens when you play well enough to make it to your last year of your contract. Ask Aaron Jones about that.

I could see them doing an extension and play some games with the money, but I'd be leery of it. We've seen 3rd contracts not work out so well in the past (see: Bakhtiari, David). Outside of QB, I'm not sure a 3rd contract is a good idea (unless it's a series of 1 year deals), usually the player is too expensive and too old to make it worthwhile.

Outside of QB the only guys who generally play well into their 30s are the big men. I think Clark has another contract in him to be honest. Not a "top dollar" deal, but a pretty good one regardless. Plus I think he was drafted about as young as you can be. Don't feel like googling his age. Big talented DL and OL who take care of themselves often play to 33/34.

[ThunderDan]

Yeah, that pressure was what I was talking about. Georgia against some other high level SEC team is about the nearest you can get to the way it is in the NFL.

Bringing in this guy is a start, but I hope they bring in several more and start the competition out even, no advantage for Carlson.

The NFL is a completely results driven institution. Whomever can kick the best will get the job.

High drafted players may get preferential treatment the first year and a half but after that if he can't get it done, the coach isn't going to put someone out there who is going to lose games and possible cost the coach his career.

[Joemailman]

Outside of QB the only guys who generally play well into their 30s are the big men. I think Clark has another contract in him to be honest. Not a "top dollar" deal, but a pretty good one regardless. Plus I think he was drafted about as young as you can be. Don't feel like googling his age. Big talented DL and OL who take care of themselves often play to 33/34.

Clark is only 28. He was something like 20 years, 6 months when drafted. Had his career high in sacks, TFL and QB hits this year. He definitely has another contract in him. They'll probably get his 15.5M 2024 base salary down and add 3 years.

[RashanGary]

Clark is signed through next year. He’ll be 29 during his last season. There are still 40M dollars left to absorb in cap hit.

I’m with Joe that he’s probably due for a 3 year extension. Which is a 4 year deal including the last year of his current deal.

22M is the going rate for a top tier DL not named Aaron Donald.

He’s due 15M in base this year, so the up-front money will have to be a good chunk more for his agent to want to sign. We’ll say 40 of the 60 new is guaranteed and/or up front.

3 years, 60M in new money
1 year, 40M existing
4 year, 100M total cap hit

His current cap hit is 27M with dead cap next year of 13M


Cap hits on the new deal would look like this
Age 29 17.5M
Age 30 22.5M
Age 31 27.5M
Age 32 32.5M

At his age it’s a risk. Similar to the way Bakh was. It’s always risky to sign non QBs over the age of 30. But like bobble said, really good big guy DL play well into their early 30s.

[texaspackerbacker]

The NFL is a completely results driven institution. Whomever can kick the best will get the job.

High drafted players may get preferential treatment the first year and a half but after that if he can't get it done, the coach isn't going to put someone out there who is going to lose games and possible cost the coach his career.

For once, I agree with you. Also, I agree with RG who agreed with bobblehead about Kenny Clark. It must be my day to be agreeable hahahaha.

[Patler]

There's just so much more pressure on a kicker in the NFL than there is on kickers in college. Every kick is magnified because the games are closer. Packers had 8 games this year decided by 4 points or less. You don't really know what you have in a kicker going from college to the NFL until the pressure is on.

That, and the NFL use of the k-ball for kicking plays. Some college kickers have difficulty adapting to it mentally and/or physically.

[QBME]

Packers Strength and conditioning coordinator Chris Gizzi has been fired.

Hopefully they will get someone who knows about preventative hamstring injuries.

[run pMc]

MLF firing two of his four coordinators (DC, S&CC) is certainly putting a thumbprint on your operation. Here's hoping he makes the right hires.

[Joemailman]

Gino BetOpenly.com
@Gino_BetOpenly

Gotta love seeing this as a #Packers fan[/B]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GE0a-nnWYAA9Eof?format=jpg&name=small

[Fosco33]

Good article

https://packerswire.usatoday.com/lists/evaluating-packers-roster-entering-2024-offseason/

[Bretsky]

GREAT ARTICLE; DIDN"T KNOW ABOUT ALL OF THIS

That leaves the ugly David Bakhtiari contract situation. He is set to earn $21.5 million cash in the final year of his contract, but his initial signing bonus and three straight years of cap restructuring have now piled up into 2024 creating a whopping $40 million cap hit -- by far the largest on the roster, $12.5 million ahead of second place.

Important to note: Bakhtiari has intentionally not allowed the Packers to use void years in his restructures the past three seasons in to have full leverage of his future in the final year of his deal as the Packers now cannot lower his 2024 cap hit (outside of cutting, trading, or retirement) without David's cooperation. There is zero chance Bakhtiari will play in Green Bay on his current contract as written and the Packers have a big decision to make with their former All-Pro left tackle. No doubt, when healthy and available, Bakhtiari is still one of the best in the business, but of course his health and availability have been wildly unpredictable the past three years. If Bakhtiari himself doesn't want to stay in Green Bay or doesn't like the Packers' offer he can just refuse a restructure and force the Packers to either risk paying him $21.5 million to play and stay healthy at a $40 million cap hit, be outright released for no compensation, or risk carrying his contract into 2024 in a complex trade landscape -- none of these are great options.


Let's start with what cannot change -- there is $19.1 million of dead cap which 100% will count on the 2024 Green Bay salary cap before Bakhtiari gets a penny of contract cash in 2024. This hit cannot move out of 2024 for any reason and is comprised of past seasons' cap-kicking now coming due. It's safe to predict that once all the team's offseason moves are complete David Bakhtiari will still own the highest 2024 cap hit for the Packers -- even if he is no longer on the roster. If the Packers want to keep Bakhtiari it would have to be at a significant pay cut and restructure from his current $21.5 million cash due, but how much is Bakhtiari willing to agree to play for, in Green Bay? If Bakhtiari is willing to take a deep ten-figure pay cut and add more into at-risk incentives and per-game bonuses, then maybe he returns for 2024.


Technically an extension could happen, but I don't see a world where the Packers commit any more money unless they are 5000% certain his medical issues are behind him. If the Packers release Bakhtiari before the start of the 2024 season in March, they would gain $20.9 million of cap savings from his contract as a starting point. If he does not pass a physical before getting released, the Packers would have to pay him at least $2.05 million of his 2024 salary, of which $1.23 million would count on the 2024 salary cap as injury protection benefit. There is a fringe legal case where Bakhtiari could file an injury grievance over his entire 2024 salary, but I won't dive into that here. However, if Bakhtiari is on the Packers roster after the start of the 2024 league year and later released this grievance scenario becomes much more possible and poses a significant cap risk for the Packers. In other words,

I strongly feel the Packers need decide on David Bakhtiari before March 13th and not allow his "as-is" contract to hit the books for 2024. The Packers could seek to trade Bakhtiari but comes with complications. The new team would have to clear him medically after his multiple 2023 knee surgeries and be willing to give up draft picks for his $21.5 million contract. Also, trades cannot happen until after March 13th so the Packers would have to carry his contract into the 2024 season which is risky (see above) all while being cap compliant with his $40 million deal still on the books. I doubt Bakhtiari would agree to lower his salary to aid a trade unless he controls where he will go. The worst case would be agreeing to a trade, having the new team fail his medicals, then landing back with the Packers scrambling for a way forward. I tend to believe the Packers can no longer afford to take a "wait and see" approach and a hard decision needs to be made here before March 13th resulting in an outright release.

[RashanGary]

Good article

https://packerswire.usatoday.com/lists/evaluating-packers-roster-entering-2024-offseason/

I wonder how much Ted Thompson Gute will show now that Rodgers is gone. If Ted had a position of need and no player dropped to him in the draft, he’d count on his scouts to dumpster dive and find something worth keeping. This was incredibly frustrating to fans who really focus on the “right now” aspect and don’t consider the possibility of getting lucky in the dumpster dive.

Gute could go full ted and patch the safety position together with whatever he can find at the local thrift store.

[Joemailman]

I wonder how much Ted Thompson Gute will show now that Rodgers is gone. If Ted had a position of need and no player dropped to him in the draft, he’d count on his scouts to dumpster dive and find something worth keeping. This was incredibly frustrating to fans who really focus on the “right now” aspect and don’t consider the possibility of getting lucky in the dumpster dive.

Gute could go full ted and patch the safety position together with whatever he can find at the local thrift store.

Gute's been a pretty good bargain hunter. De'vondre Campbell was a late signing, Rudy Ford, Keisean Nixon, Rasul Douglas and Bo Melton off practice squads. He'll need to do it again as they won't have a lot of cap room. Actually Gute does this more than Ted. Ted was more likely to just rely on UDFA's.

[NewsBruin]

I think the expanded practice rosters (16 domestic + 1 international development next seaso (https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-to-expand-practice-squads-for-all-32-teams-to-include-one-international-play)n) mean a different kind of scouting is needed. I'm not sure what or how, but now the best 496 players not on an active roster are on someone else's practice squad.

[Fritz]

Can you watch other teams' practice squad players, or just in pre-season and what you get in training camp film?

I'm guessing Guter's going to pull from the Ron Wolf/Ted Thompson draft strategy: draft a few guys at a position of need and hope at least one works out. Hell, during the rise of Randy Moss, Wolf once drafted defensive backs with his first three picks in a row. Only the third-round guy, Mike Mckenzie, really worked out. If I recall, his first round guy was a safety who did not like to hit, and his second round guy was traded to Seattle (his first name was Fred, I think) for some fumble-prone running back named Ahman something-or-other...

[Joemailman]

A little less drama this year.



Rob Demovsky
@RobDemovsky

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst will hold his season wrap-up press conference on Thursday at noon.

[Arctic Fox]

How long untill we get a new DC?

[bobblehead]

That, and the NFL use of the k-ball for kicking plays. Some college kickers have difficulty adapting to it mentally and/or physically.

Our long snapper made it look like the KY ball all season (not to be confused with KY the rat member).

[Joemailman]

How long untill we get a new DC?

Could be late this week. Unless MLF has Chiefs or 49ers coaches in mind. I doubt that though.

[RashanGary]

Could be late this week. Unless MLF has Chiefs or 49ers coaches in mind. I doubt that though.

I follow all the media on Twitter and I genuinely think you have your finger on the pulse of 1265 more than the beat guys do. It’ll probably happen late this week. I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t.

[Fritz]

Could be late this week. Unless MLF has Chiefs or 49ers coaches in mind. I doubt that though.

Please God don't let it be Brandon Staley. That'd be the same M.O. as the Joe Barely hire.

Any of the others in the running, anyone but Staley. Please, Flower. Don't make the "safe" hire of the guy you know. You do that, then you could've just kept Joe Barely.

[Joemailman]

Please God don't let it be Brandon Staley. That'd be the same M.O. as the Joe Barely hire.

Any of the others in the running, anyone but Staley. Please, Flower. Don't make the "safe" hire of the guy you know. You do that, then you could've just kept Joe Barely.

He's never coached with Staley. The guy he knows is Christian Parker. Should he stay away from him?

[Fritz]

Uh . . . . yes?

You're asking an awful lot of me here, Joe. Trying to get me to be consistent and all.

As for the free agents, I'd like to see them try to keep Nixon. He's got value both as a returner and as at least a backup slot. He's not too bad out there. At least he's not afraid to tackle.

I know Dillon is beloved in Door County and all, but I just don't see the value of keeping him.

[run pMc]

Gute could go full ted and patch the safety position together with whatever he can find at the local thrift store.

pretty sure he did that this season. The 5th year on Savage was exercised the year prior and probably regretted it. They had to work around that 8M albatross with castoffs like Ford and Owens.

[Joemailman]

pretty sure he did that this season. The 5th year on Savage was exercised the year prior and probably regretted it. They had to work around that 8M albatross with castoffs like Ford and Owens.

Before he got hurt I thought Ford was playing the best of all the Packers safeties. And I think the Packers originally signed him because he was a ST stud. So I think they'll try to bring him back. And Anthony Johnson Jr. will be back. The rest I don't much care about. Safety is a position where I expect Gute might be looking in FA.

[Frozen Tundra]

Before he got hurt I thought Ford was playing the best of all the Packers safeties. And I think the Packers originally signed him because he was a ST stud. So I think they'll try to bring him back. And Anthony Johnson Jr. will be back. The rest I don't much care about. Safety is a position where I expect Gute might be looking in FA.

With our cap space, I question whether we'll be able to afford any significant safety upgrade with our cap issues. We still have a ton of dead money, and a Top 7 or 8 quarterback to extend. But if Gute sounds confident, it makes me wonder if he has more cuts or restructures in mind than some of us are thinking.

[australianpackerbacker]

I think this team would do well in focussing on defense, defense and more defense in response to the needs of this team.

On offense we have a feeding frenzy at wr and te looks good with kraft and Musgrave just reps reps and more reps...

The offensive line is in my world the most misunderstood because these guys had Love running for his life and he honestly looked like tarvaris Jackson God rest his soul, at times. Elgton is the only name and Myers has never really developed like I hoped linsley and even EDS did, at the moment it's not a position of strength and consistency but it seems like the talent might be in house for at least 3 spots..

Kenny Clark leaving would suck. He's a poor man's Chris Jones but he's our poor man and if you got nothing better give him an honest reflection of his worth and then let him make a decision..

Devondre Campbell has not been worth the investment in some ways and I wouldn't be surprised he's gone. Preston too, he's been great but I think LVN gotta play more and establish himself..more talent outside that can make an impact immediately is the most essential thing for this team..

Secondary just need a good safety and savage has been inconsistent so I don't think he returns unless circumstance.

[australianpackerbacker]

Carlson actually annoys me a lot. His brother is good. But nobody remembers Jordan Rodgers

[call_me_ishmael]

Joe Whitt finally getting his shot. Good for him. Kinda surprised he didnt stick around in Big D with Big Mac. Do you think Al Harris gets a shot at the job, or do they bring in somebody else and cut Al free? Would be cool to see him in GB as press coverage extraordinare in some capacity. Kinda think he could still play in a pinch.

[Joemailman]

Carlson actually annoys me a lot. His brother is good. But nobody remembers Jordan Rodgers

His brother though also had some issues early in his career before finding his way. Got cut by Minnesota and Oakland before excelling with the Raiders. Packers will give him a chance to turn this around.

[Fritz]

His brother though also had some issues early in his career before finding his way. Got cut by Minnesota and Oakland before excelling with the Raiders. Packers will give him a chance to turn this around.

To his credit, the kid did come back from his misses. That's a sign of resiliency.

I don't follow the money side of the NFL very well, so I have no idea if any of the top free agent safeties would be affordable to the still-cash-strapped Packers, and I don't know if any of them have the skill set needed for either of the safety positions the Packers now will feature.

Anyone out there with more knowledge care to comment?

[run pMc]

To his credit, the kid did come back from his misses. That's a sign of resiliency.

I don't follow the money side of the NFL very well, so I have no idea if any of the top free agent safeties would be affordable to the still-cash-strapped Packers, and I don't know if any of them have the skill set needed for either of the safety positions the Packers now will feature.

Anyone out there with more knowledge care to comment?

The new prevailing wisdom is supposedly that you don't pay a lot for a safety. SEA has been trying to get out of the Jamal Adams deal for a while, NYJ was happy to. There aren't many who are transcendantly good.
A few will get paid (Winfield), and a guy like Geno Stone will get offers but I don't it will be bank breaking.

I think one of Ford or Savage will be back unless they want to start over. Given Ford turns 30 this Nov they might decide on that. I expect Gute to go heavy in the draft at Safety, OL and RB. Hafley's defense will ask different things from its safeties, and GB didn't field a great group last year anyway.

[Frozen Tundra]

His brother though also had some issues early in his career before finding his way. Got cut by Minnesota and Oakland before excelling with the Raiders. Packers will give him a chance to turn this around.

They'll bring in at least one new leg this summer to push him, maybe a couple. Either he'll elevate his game, or perhaps get beaten out.

I still think he's got a future, and remember, statistically his first season was better than Crosby's. But statistics only tell you so much, and the thing that does concern me is that there's no pattern to his misses - with most kickers, they maybe have a tendency to push the ball or hook it to one side or the other, or some other basic thing that can be corrected if they work on that one failing. But with Carlson, there doesn't seem to be just one or even two tendencies - seems to me that he just... misses. A lot.

Makes me wonder if there's a problem with the snap, or the holder getting the ball down properly. I don't know enough about kicking to be able to tell that just from watching the games on TV; maybe someone else who knows kicking will have an opinion there.

[Frozen Tundra]

The new prevailing wisdom is supposedly that you don't pay a lot for a safety. SEA has been trying to get out of the Jamal Adams deal for a while, NYJ was happy to. There aren't many who are transcendantly good.
A few will get paid (Winfield), and a guy like Geno Stone will get offers but I don't it will be bank breaking.


Spotrac pegs Winfield's current market value at 5 years/$92M, about $18M per year. I doubt we'll see him here.

But on the other hand, they set Stone's value at 3 years/$21M, about $7M per year.

So, there's a wide range of valuations there... Spotrac values Kyle Duggar at 4 years/$62M, about $16M a year, and Xavier McKinney is valued at 5 years/$52M, a little over $10M a year. Kamren Curl 4yrs/$57M, L'Jarius Sneed 4yrs/$65M...

There are some short-term bargains out there for older safeties, good players who are on the downside of their careers but still should be quality starters and could be gotten for one or two year deals to tide us over, like Micah Hyde ($3.8M). 26-year old Taylor Rapp may be a good "get" for 2yrs, $5.5M per year; not sure why he's valued so low.

It looks like the most affordable FA solutions would be a guy who's a quality starter but not a pro-bowler on a short term deal to stabilize the position while we look for better talent in the draft. I don't see Gute going bonkers and locking a star safety in for $10M+ per year; even a $5-7 million guy would suit our needs because we don't really need to get all that much better at safety in order to be a lot better than last year.

Personally, though, I'd prefer we draft our safety help. This is a good draft year for safeties, and we have a ton of picks in the right rounds to get quality players at that position.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/safety/

[Anti-Polar Bear]

To his credit, the kid did come back from his misses. That's a sign of resiliency.

I don't follow the money side of the NFL very well, so I have no idea if any of the top free agent safeties would be affordable to the still-cash-strapped Packers, and I don't know if any of them have the skill set needed for either of the safety positions the Packers now will feature.

Anyone out there with more knowledge care to comment?

The Packers have over 400 million frogskins sitting in offshore banks earning interest faster than the speed of fuck. And they’re allowed to, scam, err, sell worthless stocks to cover stadium expenses. The statement that the Packers are “cash-strapped” is inaccurate, ignorant and imprecise.

Perhaps you meant that illusion known to anyone who sucks at elementary math, the so-called “cap hell.” In truth, in an era of titanic TV contracts and fattening revenues, there’s no such fuck as a cap hell anymore in the modern NFL. But let’s pretend for a second that a cap hell somehow exists within the Packers organization.

Well, terminate the Iranian Stallion. Problem solved.

Source: Tank Elf Duke, B.S., Accounting; passer of Wisconsin CPA exams.

[RashanGary]

Every cent paid to a player is added up and cannot exceed the threshold of the “salary cap”

As such, a team can only spend a limited amount of money regardless of how much money they have in their coffers.

Since the salary cap is annual, a better way to look at it is as a 5 year pool of money vs a one year cap since there are ways to spread the money given now over 5 years. Since the salary cap goes up, paying later creates a situation where the same dollar amount paid now is a smaller amount of the cap later. Most teams always push out to maximize what they can spend now and not feel it as much later with the larger cap.

However, Packers, no matter how much money they have, could not afford to pay Jordan Loce 400M a year for the next 5 years because no matter how much you spread that out, it still exceeds the maximum allowed to spend.

The limit of what they can spend is not what they have in the bank, but it’s also not as rigid as a one year 260M cap either.

[RashanGary]

With your CPA skills, show me how you would fit a 5 year, 5 billion dollar contract under the fictitious salary cap, apb. Spread it out and fudge the numbers. Show me you can spend unlimited cash.

[SudsMcBucky]

With your CPA skills, show me how you would fit a 5 year, 5 billion dollar contract under the fictitious salary cap, apb. Spread it out and fudge the numbers. Show me you can spend unlimited cash.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM9WewYlmC0

[texaspackerbacker]

With your CPA skills, show me how you would fit a 5 year, 5 billion dollar contract under the fictitious salary cap, apb. Spread it out and fudge the numbers. Show me you can spend unlimited cash.

RG, I agreed with you in that other thread, but I disagree with you on this one. It doesn't take a CPA to comprehend the salary cap, but CPA that he is, APB nailed it.

Take your five year pool thing: you still can push salaries on years beyond that more and more and more as the cap increases more and more and more. And teams that don't live on the edge of the cap, push it, stretch it, take full advantage of it is putting itself at a disadvantage. Ever since Ted Thompson was out as GM, the Packers have done a good job of this. The result is NOT "cap hell" or any stupidity like that. The result has been long term winning football which is strongly likely to continue.

[run pMc]

There are limits on void years and other salary cap shenanigans.

If you think there aren't and the cap can be cooked indefinitely and to infinity, why don't teams do this?
Why wouldn't Jerry just pay 50M/yr to get every player on an All Pro team? Because it's not possible. C'mon, be smarter.

[call_me_ishmael]

RG, I agreed with you in that other thread, but I disagree with you on this one. It doesn't take a CPA to comprehend the salary cap, but CPA that he is, APB nailed it.

Take your five year pool thing: you still can push salaries on years beyond that more and more and more as the cap increases more and more and more. And teams that don't live on the edge of the cap, push it, stretch it, take full advantage of it is putting itself at a disadvantage. Ever since Ted Thompson was out as GM, the Packers have done a good job of this. The result is NOT "cap hell" or any stupidity like that. The result has been long term winning football which is strongly likely to continue.

You wouldn't call having to ship off to HOF players in two years cap hell?

[texaspackerbacker]

Who do you have in mind, cmi? I can't think of any that got shipped off or are in danger of that who didn't need shipping off for quality reasons.

run pMc, Of course there are limits unless you get way beyond the bounds of reason, things can be done.

I should have been more clear about RG's 5 year thing. I assume that references the limit on prorating bonuses. True as far as what can be done at the present, but 2, 3, 4, 5 years down the road, you can do the same, either extending somebody or with other players.

[call_me_ishmael]

The two guys that are sure-fire hall of famers that were here last year and won't be here next year. That said, in general, I agree with you, but the bill does eventually come due. There's a middle ground. The Packers approach probably would have been fine if not for the covid year tbh. Lots of teams were paying the piper the past few years due to the covid year.

[texaspackerbacker]

ok, but do they have names? I bet one of them is the sacred cow - good riddance. Who else? Surely you don't mean Campbell? Aaron Jones? He's gonna be here. Jaire? Probably he stays too, and he's got a way to go before he's HOF material.

[ThunderDan]

ok, but do they have names? I bet one of them is the sacred cow - good riddance. Who else? Surely you don't mean Campbell? Aaron Jones? He's gonna be here. Jaire? Probably he stays too, and he's got a way to go before he's HOF material.

The fucking player who you were sucking his balls for years until he left. ARod.

[texaspackerbacker]

So by "last year", you mean (or thought he meant) 2022? Maybe you've been doing too many people's taxes hahahahaha.

[Fritz]

Every cent paid to a player is added up and cannot exceed the threshold of the “salary cap”

As such, a team can only spend a limited amount of money regardless of how much money they have in their coffers.

Since the salary cap is annual, a better way to look at it is as a 5 year pool of money vs a one year cap since there are ways to spread the money given now over 5 years. Since the salary cap goes up, paying later creates a situation where the same dollar amount paid now is a smaller amount of the cap later. Most teams always push out to maximize what they can spend now and not feel it as much later with the larger cap.

However, Packers, no matter how much money they have, could not afford to pay Jordan Loce 400M a year for the next 5 years because no matter how much you spread that out, it still exceeds the maximum allowed to spend.

The limit of what they can spend is not what they have in the bank, but it’s also not as rigid as a one year 260M cap either.

That helps me understand, thank you. I DID ask people who had knowledge to respond, but I should have specified “knowledge of facts” because APB’s response assumed I meant “knowledge of fantasy.”

[RashanGary]

Tex and APB, pay Love 1B a year for 15 years and make it fit in this cap scenario.

Projected cap increases of 10% per year

2024 250M
2025 275M
2026 305M
2027 335M
2028 370M
2029 410M
2030 450M
2031 505M
2032 555M
2033 610M
2034 670M
2035 740M
2036 810M
2037 890M
2038 980M
He retired after 15 years starting and any left over has to be split over the next two years assuming you have him retire on your terms and it can be split between two years

2039 1.1B
2040 1.2B

Use your fancy accounting and pay a guy 15 billion dollars to play 15 years and spread it over the course of those 17 years. Extensions, voids, signing bonuses. Cook the hell out of that cap and show how you can spend unlimited while staying under those numbers.

Cook that cap.

[Bretsky]

I don't miss the sh@tgag at all

[call_me_ishmael]

So by "last year", you mean (or thought he meant) 2022? Maybe you've been doing too many people's taxes hahahahaha.

This season isn't over, so last year would be the 2022-2023 season, correct.

[texaspackerbacker]

RG, you want to see how Love could make a cool billion in 15 years (actually not that unrealistic hahahaha - an average of 67 million a year).

You spelled out the primary way yourself with that progression of the salary cap.

What you do is start him out with a five year deal, maybe 80 million bonus plus salary of $2, 10, 23, 35. and 45 million for the five years - $185 million 5 year contract - $33 per season, probably a bargain. Cap hit would be $16 million plus the salary per year, not bad. Before the fifth year, you extend him for years 5-9. A bonus of $100 million (the 45 + 55 more), salaries of $5, 12, 28, 40, and 50 million. That's face value of $235 million for 5 years. Cap hit would be a very doable $20 million plus the salary. Before the last (9th) year, extend him again for 5 more - years 9 - 13, $125 million bonus (50 + 75 more), salaries of $8, 17, 30, 50, and 65 million. That's face value of $295 for 5 years. Cap hit would be $25 million plus the salary each year, not too bad with that expanded cap. Before the last (13th) year, extend him for 5 more - years 13-17, $130 million bonus, salaries of $10, 25, 40, 50, and 60. That's face value of $285 million. Cap hit would be $26 million plus annual salaries. That would add up to a billion. I think he would likely still be fit enough to play great those 16th and 17th seasons, but if you want to think he gets cut after 15 years, then that's dead money of $52 million - probably spread out with voided years.

Let CPA APB check my figures, but I'm pretty sure this totals to your billion and 15 years.

[RashanGary]

RG, you want to see how Love could make a cool billion in 15 years (actually not that unrealistic hahahaha - an average of 67 million a year).

You spelled out the primary way yourself with that progression of the salary cap.

What you do is start him out with a five year deal, maybe 80 million bonus plus salary of $2, 10, 23, 35. and 45 million for the five years - $185 million 5 year contract - $33 per season, probably a bargain. Cap hit would be $16 million plus the salary per year, not bad. Before the fifth year, you extend him for years 5-9. A bonus of $100 million (the 45 + 55 more), salaries of $5, 12, 28, 40, and 50 million. That's face value of $235 million for 5 years. Cap hit would be a very doable $20 million plus the salary. Before the last (9th) year, extend him again for 5 more - years 9 - 13, $125 million bonus (50 + 75 more), salaries of $8, 17, 30, 50, and 65 million. That's face value of $295 for 5 years. Cap hit would be $25 million plus the salary each year, not too bad with that expanded cap. Before the last (13th) year, extend him for 5 more - years 13-17, $130 million bonus, salaries of $10, 25, 40, 50, and 60. That's face value of $285 million. Cap hit would be $26 million plus annual salaries. That would add up to a billion. I think he would likely still be fit enough to play great those 16th and 17th seasons, but if you want to think he gets cut after 15 years, then that's dead money of $52 million - probably spread out with voided years.

Let CPA APB check my figures, but I'm pretty sure this totals to your billion and 15 years.

I said 15 billion dollars. I used a high number to show beyond a doubt that you can’t spend any amount you want.

[Fritz]

So how about that safety Jordan Fuller? Here's what Matt Schneidman of The Athletic wrote about him:

"A couple of names perhaps to watch? Safety Jordan Fuller, who had three interceptions, three forced fumbles and eight pass breakups in 17 games as a Rams captain last season. He’s 25 years old, played for new Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley at Ohio State in 2019 and probably won’t be too expensive."

With those numbers, and with his youth, why wouldn't he be too expensive?

[Joemailman]

So how about that safety Jordan Fuller? Here's what Matt Schneidman of The Athletic wrote about him:

"A couple of names perhaps to watch? Safety Jordan Fuller, who had three interceptions, three forced fumbles and eight pass breakups in 17 games as a Rams captain last season. He’s 25 years old, played for new Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley at Ohio State in 2019 and probably won’t be too expensive."

With those numbers, and with his youth, why wouldn't he be too expensive?

You would think he'd be in demand. Injuries might be a bit of a concern. Missed most of 2022 with a hamstring injury. Played in all 17 games in 2023 but missed Rams playoff game due to ankle injury suffered in last regular season game.

[ThunderDan]

You would think he'd be in demand. Injuries might be a bit of a concern. Missed most of 2022 with a hamstring injury. Played in all 17 games in 2023 but missed Rams playoff game due to ankle injury suffered in last regular season game.

With hamstring issues, he would fit right in.

[texaspackerbacker]

I said 15 billion dollars. I used a high number to show beyond a doubt that you can’t spend any amount you want.

Oh yeah, so you did. I think you know, that would be ridiculously unrealistic. What I gave you was sort of a "high normal" example. Obviously you can't do ridiculous things with the cap, but my point and what APB said also is that anything reasonable at all is very doable - no "cap hell"/no need for panicky fools to get all hyper about. And if a team doesn't do that, they put themselves at a disadvantage compared to teams that do - think Ted Thompson.

[run pMc]

So how about that safety Jordan Fuller? Here's what Matt Schneidman of The Athletic wrote about him:

"A couple of names perhaps to watch? Safety Jordan Fuller, who had three interceptions, three forced fumbles and eight pass breakups in 17 games as a Rams captain last season. He’s 25 years old, played for new Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley at Ohio State in 2019 and probably won’t be too expensive."

With those numbers, and with his youth, why wouldn't he be too expensive?

Because he wasn't a first rounder, and isn't an All Pro. Because for a while the LAR looked like trash last year, and Aaron Donald is still what people think of for the LAR defense. (and probably Jalen Ramsey, incorrectly)
Most Safeties aren't getting huge contracts outside of a select few, unless someone dramatically overpays.

I think a more interesting question will be why wouldn't the Rams want him back? If he's young and a team captain, I'd think they will re-sign him and it's just Schneidman throwing a dart at a name.

[bobblehead]

So how about that safety Jordan Fuller? Here's what Matt Schneidman of The Athletic wrote about him:

"A couple of names perhaps to watch? Safety Jordan Fuller, who had three interceptions, three forced fumbles and eight pass breakups in 17 games as a Rams captain last season. He’s 25 years old, played for new Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley at Ohio State in 2019 and probably won’t be too expensive."

With those numbers, and with his youth, why wouldn't he be too expensive?

Its a very deep safety FA class.

[bobblehead]

//

[Fritz]

Because he wasn't a first rounder, and isn't an All Pro. Because for a while the LAR looked like trash last year, and Aaron Donald is still what people think of for the LAR defense. (and probably Jalen Ramsey, incorrectly)
Most Safeties aren't getting huge contracts outside of a select few, unless someone dramatically overpays.

I think a more interesting question will be why wouldn't the Rams want him back? If he's young and a team captain, I'd think they will re-sign him and it's just Schneidman throwing a dart at a name.

Good point. He's not even Micah Hyde, playing out-of-position. And who was the DC in Green Bay who couldn't recognize that Hyde needed to be a safety, anyway? Capers? Pettine? I don't remember.

[Joemailman]

Good point. He's not even Micah Hyde, playing out-of-position. And who was the DC in Green Bay who couldn't recognize that Hyde needed to be a safety, anyway? Capers? Pettine? I don't remember.

Capers was the DC when Hyde was here. Ha-Ha and Burnett were the starting safeties.

[Fritz]

Ah, thanks, Joe.

[RashanGary]

Oh yeah, so you did. I think you know, that would be ridiculously unrealistic. What I gave you was sort of a "high normal" example. Obviously you can't do ridiculous things with the cap, but my point and what APB said also is that anything reasonable at all is very doable - no "cap hell"/no need for panicky fools to get all hyper about. And if a team doesn't do that, they put themselves at a disadvantage compared to teams that do - think Ted Thompson.

Ok, so you guys just speak in hyperbole and really you know there are limits to what is possible. You just think most things are possible and there is little downside.

Even that softened take, I don’t agree with. I do think the common view skews a little too far in the direction of being safe. I agree pushing out is better. The cap will be up at last 30% in any given 5 year span. It’s always better to take the same hit later when it’s a smaller percentage of the larger whole.

Mathematically, you’re at a disadvantage if you insist on paying now because there is simply less now to spend.

But what we did after Covid. That doesn’t make sense. We lose a bunch of guys to void year cuts and get nothing back from the compensatory pool. That’s the only big disadvantage. Other than that, paying later is just better. It’s better, better. There’s no doubt in my mind you’ll always have more talent if you’re always taking the hits down the road.

But like I said, guys who would expire when they’re 28/29 and still get a good contract, those void year cuts do take away from extra picks and I don’t like that tool for that reason.

So my view is push out as much as you can with signing bonuses, but be careful when you use voids. Voids are great for aging guys who are highly unlikely to draw a big contract when you cut them since they will not be getting you a comp pick anyway.

[texaspackerbacker]

"Mathematically, you’re at a disadvantage if you insist on paying now because there is simply less now to spend." - yeah, this is the crux of the matter.

Your whole post does a pretty good job of summarizing what I (and APB) have been saying. That's also what the Packers and a lot of successful teams do. My strong opinion is that it works because it brings winning football. You think otherwise?

[bobblehead]

Good point. He's not even Micah Hyde, playing out-of-position. And who was the DC in Green Bay who couldn't recognize that Hyde needed to be a safety, anyway? Capers? Pettine? I don't remember.

Cracks me up. I watched 2 preseason games and declared Hyde would be a great safety. Fat mike watched 4 years and couldn't get it. I'm no football genius, but some things are obvious. And clay should have been moved to ILB after his roids wore off. There were others over the years. AJ Hawk and the tackle for a 7 yard gain got old fast.

[bobblehead]

"Mathematically, you’re at a disadvantage if you insist on paying now because there is simply less now to spend." - yeah, this is the crux of the matter.

Your whole post does a pretty good job of summarizing what I (and APB) have been saying. That's also what the Packers and a lot of successful teams do. My strong opinion is that it works because it brings winning football. You think otherwise?

It brings boom/bust. We didn't bust because Gutes had back to back historically successful drafts. Fucking Legend! Well, we did bust a year earlier I guess technically when Rodgers had an owie on his thumb.

[run pMc]

Mathematically, you’re at a disadvantage if you insist on paying now because there is simply less now to spend.

I'd say it depends. Whether he's on the roster or not, David Bahktiari counts $19M against the cap next year because they kicked his money down the road. If you can keep contract money as nonguaranteed money (salary) vs. a bonus you can just cut that player with no cap hit.
The danger of pushing everything out indefinitely is that eventually players retire, get very injured, or their contract simply expire, and void years, money kicked forward, etc. all becomes due, and you no longer have that money to put towards your current roster.

The only time I'd advocate doing that is the situation in 2021 where the team was obviously very good (a legit SB contender) and you wanted to run it back. After you do that, you have to take your medicine to get your cap right though.

I agree with most of what you're saying, to some degree.

I don't believe in 3rd contracts for most players,
I think you have to be very wary of players who turn 29 when their contract ends.
I think you need to layer your contracts with salary and guaranteed money so you have flexibility to renegotiate or cut players to get cap flexibility while not incurring huge cap hits like the Rodgers or Bahktiari contracts.

You're better off in most cases letting so-so players walk to draft someone younger, cheaper, and with upside to raise the floor of that side of the ball. It's a young man's game, signing Cobbs and Lazards and Campbells to pricey deals is a bad idea.

[run pMc]

Cracks me up. I watched 2 preseason games and declared Hyde would be a great safety. Fat mike watched 4 years and couldn't get it. I'm no football genius, but some things are obvious. And clay should have been moved to ILB after his roids wore off. There were others over the years. AJ Hawk and the tackle for a 7 yard gain got old fast.

The other thing to mention about Hyde was that he got a big contract offer from BUF and there was no way GB was going to match. They had other salary cap priorities at the time, and Ted was sad but willing to let him play elsewhere.

[Frozen Tundra]

"Mathematically, you’re at a disadvantage if you insist on paying now because there is simply less now to spend." - yeah, this is the crux of the matter.

Your whole post does a pretty good job of summarizing what I (and APB) have been saying. That's also what the Packers and a lot of successful teams do. My strong opinion is that it works because it brings winning football. You think otherwise?

Kansas City Chiefs sure think otherwise. Including this season, they've been in 4 of the last 5 Super Bowls and have won 2 of the first 3. And they have $51 million in cap space going into this year, and no apparent troubles looming on the horizon.

That's a pretty good argument that kicking the salary cap down the road just to win now is not the only way to win, and probably not even the best. The Chiefs are very shrewd in how they structure contracts, and don't hesitate to rework them as needed. The average age of their team is only 6 months older than Green Bay, so they're not saddled with David Bakhtiari contracts carrying $40M cap hits, which allows them to fill holes with moderately priced free agents as needed. They plan ahead for replacing their own free agents with younger players. They draft well, so they can keep more of their key talent on cheap contracts, and trade them away for more draft picks before they're due for their payday contract - like Tyreek Hill, who they traded for 5 draft picks and almost $20M in cap space.

Time will tell how well this model holds up, because they do have a lot more UFAs coming up starting this year. 23 or 24, I think. But Spotrac projects they'll still start the 2024 season with over $20m in free cap space this year; I really don't know what the next few years will bring. But right now, they seem to have a damned good model for how to run a franchise, and it doesn't involve kicking dead cap down the road.

[texaspackerbacker]

It brings boom/bust. We didn't bust because Gutes had back to back historically successful drafts. Fucking Legend! Well, we did bust a year earlier I guess technically when Rodgers had an owie on his thumb.

Nobody in the NFL has been less "boom/bust" over the past three decades or so - consistent winning football with Favre and Rodgers and strong probability of it continuing another decade or more with Love.

It was a little unclear whether you mean boom/bust by being Ted Thompson - not riding the edge of the cap OR doing the opposite as I, APB, and to some extent Gutekunst like. The boom/bust thing IMO is caused by teams stupidly tearing down to rebuild - something which the Packers haven't done for a long long time - rebuilding on a fly. Of course, being blessed with consecutive HOF QBs kinda makes it all possible.

Frozen Tundra, taking your word for it on the facts about the Chiefs, that's an example of doing it the other way, more like the Ted Thompson way, not pushing the cap to the limit. I'm thinking that works for the same reason - hitting it big with a HOF level QB. Just as with the Packers in the Thompson years, though, arguably they are not maximizing things. They could be even better hahahaha.

[Frozen Tundra]

Frozen Tundra, taking your word for it on the facts about the Chiefs, that's an example of doing it the other way, more like the Ted Thompson way, not pushing the cap to the limit. I'm thinking that works for the same reason - hitting it big with a HOF level QB. Just as with the Packers in the Thompson years, though, arguably they are not maximizing things. They could be even better hahahaha.

One other thing KC seems to have going for it is that the players seem inclined to buy into the "team first" mentality, and understand that the price of playing on a well-run and successful team is you may not make as much money. Mahomes, for one, could be making more money if he wanted to push it, and Travis Kelce admits that it's frustrating knowing that teammates who get traded away or leave in FA are making a lot more than he does. But, he loves his teammates and the organization, and it's important to him to be a part of it.

[texaspackerbacker]

You seriously think the Packers are not that way too? I certainly think they are.

[run pMc]

Not sure where you're getting the KC numbers.
They have 2.3M in cap space for what remains of this season, and 23M for 2024. OTC shows them as having 44 players under contract for 2024, so that 23M will get chewed up quite a bit; after draft picks and allowing a little in-season wiggle room you probably have 10-12M for FA signings.

Like GB, they had a lot of issues early with their offense and the receivers. Kelce and Rice are their most reliable options, and Kelce is a 35 year old TE. I'd guess they want to move on from Toney and aren't thrilled with Skyy Moore and MVS. On the OL, Hurmphrey will get an extension, Smith might too.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/kansas-city-chiefs/cap/
https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/kansas-city-chiefs

You can say their cap situation is better than GB's, but they aren't exactly flush in cap space. Or am I missing something?

[Fritz]

I would like to see the Packers get a free agent - I'm guessing Guter will let someone else sign the top-end free agents and set the market, then sign a mid-tier guy - and then draft two or three safeties. Maybe re-sign either Ford or Owen to play the more down-in-the-box safety. This would be both a band-aid - the free agent or agents - while giving the rookies a year or two to get up to speed. Safety seems to be one of the hardest positions to learn. Took Darren Sharper two full seasons. Nick Collins, too.

[ThunderDan]

It brings boom/bust. We didn't bust because Gutes had back to back historically successful drafts. Fucking Legend! Well, we did bust a year earlier I guess technically when Rodgers had an owie on his thumb.

A lot of truth to this. If we don't have the great drafts we had, our offense would have been stunted. If that is the case, who knows if we are as positive about Love as we are right now.

We would be tight to the cap with no franchise QB for sure who is looking for a contract and a ton of holes to fill on the offense as well as the defense.

We could be looking at the doom and gloom that Tex was so sure was going to happen if we traded ARod until we traded ARod and then Tex was happy he was gone.

[MadtownPacker]

:lol: You guys always dogging Tex for his loyalty. You all don’t understand he is just a gang member in white mans clothing. :lol: Even when on the wrong side he is always for the gang.

[bobblehead]

:lol: You guys always dogging Tex for his loyalty. You all don’t understand he is just a gang member in white mans clothing. :lol: Even when on the wrong side he is always for the gang.

Oh I get it. Watching a game with him would be fun. Trying to have a well thought out discussion is maddening.

[RashanGary]

Oh I get it. Watching a game with him would be fun. Trying to have a well thought out discussion is maddening.

My brother is the same way. It’s not as fun as you think. Everyone else is like, oh man, this was disappointing, I worry about that, maybe we need this, etc. My brother just stops talking and leaves. The next game he’s right back, 100% sure of victory again. Didn’t process what happpened at all. Doesn’t feel anxious anticipation. Just sits down with no excitement, completely assured of another victory. It’s actually maddening, believe it or not.

[RashanGary]

He’ll talk for 10 minutes before the game about why we’re gonna dominate, but if you mention a doubt or concern, he pretends like he didn’t hear you and goes back to the 100% reality that we’re going to win. He doesn’t actually call you a degenerate to your face, but you know what he means. You’re too much of an idiot to entertain your imbecilic thought process. It’s not as fun as it seems in theory.

[MadtownPacker]

Oh I get it. Watching a game with him would be fun. Trying to have a well thought out discussion is maddening.
I’m sure you would find rich guy things to talk about. He would then kick your ass at tennis. But then he would play double with you to beat down RashanGary and his bro.

Sorry that’s a potential scene for the PackerRats movie. :jig: As for this thread I think veteran back up QB would be a nice luxury. In these next years ahead, during all the big moments to come, it would be nice for Love to have a mentor. Someone who has been there done that can help him from locking up like the end of the 49ers game.

[texaspackerbacker]

hahahahahaha Your image of me is talking "rich guy things"? Not me. Unmentionable things, if you know what I mean, yeah. I can't see talking much football with him, though, as he's exactly what he says I and others are.

I might be up for beating down RashanGary (the poster, not the pass rusher) at tennis, but I have more respect for him than most of the posters in here - probably top 4 or 5. bobblehead might make the top 10 or 12.

Veteran QB? Where did that come from? I'm extremely fine with Sean Clifford. We had a whole thread about that - before it went to hell. Clifford ain't near as good as Love, but he would be more than adequate if he had to play for a while - more to be trusted with the keys to the car than some lame-assed retread, whoever it might be.

[MadtownPacker]

You play fukin tennis man you country clubbing mofo!! :lol:

I explained why above. I have no problem with Clifford. Love’s current trajectory Clifford really doesn’t have a role and damn sure won’t want to wait around. Just seems like it would be a win/win for both sides.

[Frozen Tundra]

As for this thread I think veteran back up QB would be a nice luxury. In these next years ahead, during all the big moments to come, it would be nice for Love to have a mentor. Someone who has been there done that can help him from locking up like the end of the 49ers game.

Someone like... Sean Mannion, for example? He'd be perfect!

[texaspackerbacker]

You play fukin tennis man you country clubbing mofo!! :lol:

I explained why above. I have no problem with Clifford. Love’s current trajectory Clifford really doesn’t have a role and damn sure won’t want to wait around. Just seems like it would be a win/win for both sides.

hahahahaha I play tennis because it's free - as opposed to golf which I also play but it's damn expensive. The only thing I ever did at a country club was caddie when I was a kid.

As much as I like Clifford, he seems more like career quality back up material than starter. If I'm wrong, and we can get something for him in trade like Flynn, Brooks, etc., great. Then I'd still rather get some other young mobile guy than some old retread.

[MadtownPacker]

Someone like... Sean Mannion, for example? He'd be perfect!
Not really old enough and more importantly hasn’t done shit unless he was playing the Packers defense. I was thinking a QB who has been in the playoffs. Flacco would be the type. Maybe Wilson soon since we are talking Seattle leftovers.

As for needs, a straight up stud and a straight up thug at LBer would be an upgrade.

[MadtownPacker]

hahahahaha I play tennis because it's free - as opposed to golf which I also play but it's damn expensive. The only thing I ever did at a country club was caddie when I was a kid.

As much as I like Clifford, he seems more like career quality back up material than starter. If I'm wrong, and we can get something for him in trade like Flynn, Brooks, etc., great. Then I'd still rather get some other young mobile guy than some old retread.Haha! You say it’s damn expensive but yet you play. Then you confess to being a country club member since childhood. :lol: Bobble please do not commit a crime with Tex he will tell on himself!

Ok I’m gonna go full TexasPackerBacker on you. Why the fuck do we need any other QB when we got Love??? That’s negativity talk and now I fear you might predict the Packers DONT go undefeated next season. I think these naysayers are finally turning you to the dark side. Don’t let the shitheads get to you man!!!

[Frozen Tundra]

Not really old enough and more importantly hasn’t done shit unless he was playing the Packers defense. I was thinking a QB who has been in the playoffs. Flacco would be the type. Maybe Wilson soon since we are talking Seattle leftovers.

As for needs, a straight up stud and a straight up thug at LBer would be an upgrade.

I see your point. Makes me think of Kevin Greene taking Matthews aside and telling him, "This is your time" in the Super Bowl. A lot of people could have said the same thing at the same moment, but it wouldn't have meant as much coming from anyone but Greene.

And Flacco would be a hell of a choice, if he'd go for it. As far as Wilson is concerned, I wouldn't want him even in the same area code as Love, much less in his ear.

Mannion will have his role to play, but you're right. This isn't quite it. I think his value will be more as a day-to-day influence, a lot of little things here and there. I remember Kirk Cousins saying that Mannion played a big part in making him a more complete and consistent quarterback (or some similar language), which I thought was remarkable considering he's 4 years older than Mannion. But yeah - it would have been nice to have Joe Flacco on the sideline with his arm over Jordan's shoulder just before that last drive in San Francisco. Wonder if he'd go for it? Now that you mentioned his name, I have a hard time imagining anyone else to do it!

You have any linebackers in mind who answer to that description and whom we can afford? Most of the ones I've been looking at are probably well over $10M per copy. Doesn't leave a lot left for safety, which I think is an even bigger need this year.

[texaspackerbacker]

Haha! You say it’s damn expensive but yet you play. Then you confess to being a country club member since childhood. :lol: Bobble please do not commit a crime with Tex he will tell on himself!

Ok I’m gonna go full TexasPackerBacker on you. Why the fuck do we need any other QB when we got Love??? That’s negativity talk and now I fear you might predict the Packers DONT go undefeated next season. I think these naysayers are finally turning you to the dark side. Don’t let the shitheads get to you man!!!

bobblehead often accuses me of not reading the shit he posts good enough, so I guess I'm going "full bobblehead" on you hahahahaha. I did NOT say I had been a country club member since I was a kid. What I said was the only time I was ever even in a country club - and not even a member then - was as a caddy a few times about sixty something years ago. Oh yeah, and I did sneak onto Pebble Beach and play a few holes one time in the 70s when I was in the army. My high school prom was at the local country club, but nerd that I was, I didn't go. You should owe me one free you-know-what post in the wrong place for this hahahahaha.

And golf, yeah, I play it some - sneaking on for free most of the time my first 20 or 30 years, playing mostly cheap courses after that, using a driver I got in a pawn shop, and using most of the same irons I used 50 or 60 years ago.

And why do we need a backup QB if we have Love? Seriously, or are you using bobblehead-esque sarcasm? Advising the QB is what you have coaches for - Clements and Mannion for when Clements retires. I want a young guy like Clifford to put on the field "just in case" - not an old immobile plug like Flacco.

And I never liked Kevin Greene. The only longhaired weirdo I even tolerated was Clay Matthews, well, I guess Aaron Jones too hahahaha.

Oh and one more thing, I'm so old that think I might have coached Sean Mannion's father or grandfather in youth baseball at Fort Ord in the '70s - same last time, I think first name Sean, and a damn good player.

[Frozen Tundra]

Oh and one more thing, I'm so old that think I might have coached Sean Mannion's father or grandfather in youth baseball at Fort Ord in the '70s - same last time, I think first name Sean, and a damn good player.

Could the kid have been named John? Because they're from the Bay area, and his dad must have been an athlete because he's a football coach. Sean was born in San Jose in 92, so the geography and the timeline work out.

Mannion's a big guy, 6'6". Do you rememember if your player was tall for his age?

[Fritz]

hahahahahaha Your image of me is talking "rich guy things"? Not me. Unmentionable things, if you know what I mean, yeah. I can't see talking much football with him, though, as he's exactly what he says I and others are.

I might be up for beating down RashanGary (the poster, not the pass rusher) at tennis, but I have more respect for him than most of the posters in here - probably top 4 or 5. bobblehead might make the top 10 or 12.

Veteran QB? Where did that come from? I'm extremely fine with Sean Clifford. We had a whole thread about that - before it went to hell. Clifford ain't near as good as Love, but he would be more than adequate if he had to play for a while - more to be trusted with the keys to the car than some lame-assed retread, whoever it might be.

Donkey shows? Incest?

Talk to us, Tex, baby!

[texaspackerbacker]

Don't tempt me, Fritz - you got warned recently too. What's a donkey show anyway? I've heard of guys liking sheep, but donkeys?

Frozen, I found out that much in Google too. I'm not sure. The area and time was about right, but the height and the name doesn't seem likely. The kid was a real athlete but not particularly tall at Little League age.

[Joemailman]

Not really old enough and more importantly hasn’t done shit unless he was playing the Packers defense. I was thinking a QB who has been in the playoffs. Flacco would be the type. Maybe Wilson soon since we are talking Seattle leftovers.



Mike Garafolo
@MikeGarafolo

The #Steelers and QB Mitchell Trubisky have decided to mutually part ways, sources say. The sides spoke to assess the situation and Trubisky, 29, gets a fresh start just over a month ahead of the start of the league year and free agency.

[texaspackerbacker]

I really don't think we need a veteran QB at all, but if we did get one, I'd MUCH prefer Trubisky to Flacco.

[run pMc]

Flacco is not MLF's type. Trubisky is. Either way, I think they feel good about Clifford coming back for Year 2.
They have other needs and not a lot of cap space, I don't see them spending a lot in FA on a backup QB. They have McGough still as the QB3 and could easily bring in a Jordan Travis type on a Day 3 pick.

If they have to play their backup (or their QB3) for more than a game they are probably in trouble.

I get that there are benefits to having a veteran in the position room, but sometimes the coaches have to step up too. Clements is a good coach and Mannion is basically a veteran voice.
Besides, Love had a lot of time to watch Rodgers, and Clifford had a lot of starts at Penn State. That stadium in Happy Valley holds a lot of people, and he played in some big games.

[Frozen Tundra]

Besides, Love had a lot of time to watch Rodgers, and Clifford had a lot of starts at Penn State. That stadium in Happy Valley holds a lot of people, and he played in some big games.

Good point. He played a hell of a game in the Rose Bowl, for example.

[Joemailman]

Matt Schneidman
@mattschneidman

The Packers are hiring 49ers assistant strength coach Aaron Hill as their new head of strength and conditioning, per source.

[Joemailman]

Matt Schneidman
@mattschneidman

The Packers are hiring 49ers assistant strength coach Aaron Hill as their new head of strength and conditioning, per source.

Hill has a fan.



Kurt Benkert
@KurtBenkert

I LOVED him when I was with the Niners. He’ll crush it.

[run pMc]

Maybe he can solve the hamstring issues Watson and Jones and Stokes and others had.

[MadtownPacker]

Hill has a fan.
Consider me a fan also. Better not freeze up when he plays his whole team. :lol:

[Anti-Polar Bear]

Cap is rumored to be $250M this year. Take that, cap hell!

Cut Iranian Stallion. Cut Cletidus. Sign a mofo ILB. Sign a hip hop safety. Draft a cheetah tailback. And New Orleans, here comes the Pack!

[texaspackerbacker]

I agree with all of that except your blind spot about Kenny Clark. Restructure him, of course, but make damn sure he is still a Packer.

[SudsMcBucky]

I agree with all of that except your blind spot about Kenny Clark. Restructure him, of course, but make damn sure he is still a Packer.

100%.

[QBME]

I agree with all of that except your blind spot about Kenny Clark. Restructure him, of course, but make damn sure he is still a Packer.

ibid

[run pMc]

Agree. Wow, look at everyone agreeing with Tex! ;)

[Frozen Tundra]

Agree. Wow, look at everyone agreeing with Tex! ;)

He's going to get suspicious that he's being set up.

[texaspackerbacker]

Naw. I just thought this was somehow "sensible day" for ya'all hahahahahaha.

[run pMc]

Salary cap went up a LOT. Nobody expecting the jump it took. FA's are going to get PAID.
cap jumped 30M to 255.4M or thereabouts.

Will be interesting to see what flexibility that gives GB.

[Fritz]

Salary cap went up a LOT. Nobody expecting the jump it took. FA's are going to get PAID.
cap jumped 30M to 255.4M or thereabouts.

Will be interesting to see what flexibility that gives GB.

More up-front money for Love, so you don't have to eat a cap monster down the road?

A middle-of-the-road safety to play while the kids Guter drafts get up to speed?

Interesting to see.

[Frozen Tundra]

Holy crap. I just saw yesterday where Florio was told by a source when he says has always been reliable on cap issues that we were going to be looking at a lot closer to 250 than the low 240s, but this... wow.

Obviously, if upur cap is up $30M that means everyone else's is too, so it's not like it gives us any sort of unbalanced, special advantage. But it sure does help Gute and Brandt field the best possible team for our window.

[run pMc]

Holy crap. I just saw yesterday where Florio was told by a source when he says has always been reliable on cap issues that we were going to be looking at a lot closer to 250 than the low 240s, but this... wow.

Obviously, if upur cap is up $30M that means everyone else's is too, so it's not like it gives us any sort of unbalanced, special advantage. But it sure does help Gute and Brandt field the best possible team for our window.

Yeah, doesn't really give GB any advantage. It does allow them to make some moves without having to kick cap hits down the road.
I'm curious what this means for Aaron Jones and Preston Smith. Certainly helps out with a Jordan Love extension.

I still think they'll extend Kenny Clark and release DeVondre.

Technically, this might mean they could keep Bakhtiari on the roster. Oof. Unless they can get him to agree to a contract adjustment (unlikely), I think you have to cut bait and use that space for extensions or elsewhere.

[Fritz]

Yeah, doesn't really give GB any advantage. It does allow them to make some moves without having to kick cap hits down the road.
I'm curious what this means for Aaron Jones and Preston Smith. Certainly helps out with a Jordan Love extension.

I still think they'll extend Kenny Clark and release DeVondre.

Technically, this might mean they could keep Bakhtiari on the roster. Oof. Unless they can get him to agree to a contract adjustment (unlikely), I think you have to cut bait and use that space for extensions or elsewhere.

You trade Bakh to the Jest for a fifth round pick!

[MadtownPacker]

You trade Bakh to the Jest for a fifth round pick!
Include Rodgers and we can get that back up QB with playoff experience I was asking for.

[sharpe1027]

Include Rodgers and we can get that back up QB with playoff experience I was asking for.

Hahah. Too bad his cap number is insane this year.

[ThunderDan]

Hahah. Too bad his cap number is insane this year.

Actually, the Packers would be OK. The signing bonus doesn't pass to the new team if I remember correctly. ARod would be 3.161 million against the Packers cap in 2024.

The Jets would take a $49,000,000 cap hit if they trade him for a total of $66,161,000 for the year.

[sharpe1027]

Actually, the Packers would be OK. The signing bonus doesn't pass to the new team if I remember correctly. ARod would be 3.161 million against the Packers cap in 2024.

The Jets would take a $49,000,000 cap hit if they trade him for a total of $66,161,000 for the year.

Insane for the Jets. They can't trade him.

[Fritz]

Insane for the Jets. They can't trade him.

But they can cut him so he can sign with the Vikes!

[texaspackerbacker]

Include Rodgers and we can get that back up QB with playoff experience I was asking for.

It's been said that I ain't good at recognizing sarcasm, but YOU saying "include Rodgers", that just has to be sarcasm, right? hahahahaha.

I obviously want to get rid of the old sacred cow, but I don't want another QB, even Rodgers. We're fine with Love and Clifford.

My prediction is that assuming Rodgers comes back healthy, he has a great season with the Jets. Maybe the Packers even meet the Jets in the Super Bowl. And no, that's not sarcasm.

[sharpe1027]

But they can cut him so he can sign with the Vikes!
Fuck the. cap. Make it happen!

[Frozen Tundra]

Insane for the Jets. They can't trade him.

It apparently never dawned on them that they might want to.

They should have done their due diligence and checked with a few of us to see what they were getting themselves into.

[texaspackerbacker]

Yeah, like the torn achilles was predictable hahahaha. I'm betting he still goes on to have a few more years of excellence, solidifying his GOAT status - until Love unseats him as the GOAT.

[sharpe1027]

It wasn't completely unpredictable that a 40 year old QB might get injured playing behind the Jets o-line.

[run pMc]

It wasn't completely unpredictable that a 40 year old QB might get injured playing behind the Jets o-line.

LOL there were a ton of us saying this in threads, including you.
That OL was bad in 2022, and I don't know if they were any better last season either.

[Frozen Tundra]

Yeah, like the torn achilles was predictable hahahaha. I'm betting he still goes on to have a few more years of excellence, solidifying his GOAT status - until Love unseats him as the GOAT.

Looks more like Mahomes is he one who's going to unseat Brady, way things are shaping up now.

[Frozen Tundra]

It wasn't completely unpredictable that a 40 year old QB might get injured playing behind the Jets o-line.

Especially playing on that 3rd-rate cow pasture in East Rutherford.

[Joemailman]

Especially playing on that 3rd-rate cow pasture in East Rutherford.

Don't 3rd rate cow pastures have real grass?

[Joemailman]

Tom Pelissero
@TomPelissero

More salary cap savings ...

The #Packers restructured LB Rashan Gary's deal, clearing $4.781M.

[Joemailman]

Tom Silverstein
@TomSilverstein

#Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said at the combine a decision on LT David Bakhtiari will be made before the start of free agency in March despite his surgically repaired knee not being fully recovered. Also said Russ Ball would be meeting with agents for Aaron Jones and many others.

[Fritz]

Tom Silverstein
@TomSilverstein

#Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said at the combine a decision on LT David Bakhtiari will be made before the start of free agency in March despite his surgically repaired knee not being fully recovered. Also said Russ Ball would be meeting with agents for Aaron Jones and many others.

If we all just wait another six months, I am SURE Drew Barrymore will finally go out with me, and I am equally sure that Bakh's knee will be just fine.

[texaspackerbacker]

And he'll STILL be expensive and overrated.

[Joemailman]

Attaboy Gute.



Matt Schneidman
@mattschneidman

Brian Gutekunst was asked today about chasing the Lions: "Around here, we’ve never hung banners for division championships, so it’s never been about that. It’s a nice starting point, but I think we’re always looking for bigger things."

I don't think he was taking a shot, but...

[Fritz]

Attaboy Gute.

I remember being at Ford Field and looking up to see their banners. "Central Division Champions 1993." "Division Runner-Up 1994." Shit like that. A few banners for "World Champions" from the 1950's. It was almost painful.

[Joemailman]

Field Yates
@FieldYates

The Packers and OLB Preston Smith have agreed to a restructured contract that creates $2.4M in cap space for the team in 2024. Smith’s compensation for this year is now $10M.


Tex Western ⚛︎������������������
@TexWestern

This looks like a straight pay cut, since Preston was due to make $12.4M in cash this year.

[texaspackerbacker]

Good. Both because it saves some money and because it apparently keeps a decent player in the edge rusher rotation.

[Fritz]

Good. Both because it saves some money and because it apparently keeps a decent player in the edge rusher rotation.

Once again, I agree with Tex.

Geez I hope I don't start calling anyone who disagrees with me a moron and an idiot who is stupid and unfit to be a Packer fan. But maybe I'd take a Filipino wife.

[sharpe1027]

Field Yates
@FieldYates

The Packers and OLB Preston Smith have agreed to a restructured contract that creates $2.4M in cap space for the team in 2024. Smith’s compensation for this year is now $10M.


Tex Western ⚛︎��������������� ����
@TexWestern

This looks like a straight pay cut, since Preston was due to make $12.4M in cash this year.

I doubt it. They probably added incentives he'll get easily, increased his compensation in later years, or both.

[Fritz]

I like Preson Smith. He's just so solid and he can get pressure on the passer. And a team player, apparently. Seems like a very solid dude. Glad he's back.

[sharpe1027]

Field Yates
@FieldYates

The Packers and OLB Preston Smith have agreed to a restructured contract that creates $2.4M in cap space for the team in 2024. Smith’s compensation for this year is now $10M.


Tex Western ⚛︎��������������� ����
@TexWestern

This looks like a straight pay cut, since Preston was due to make $12.4M in cash this year.

My other post didn't show up. What I was saying is I doubt it's a pay cut. They probably gave him easy to meet incentives. They might also have increased his compensation in future years.

[Joemailman]

My other post didn't show up. What I was saying is I doubt it's a pay cut. They probably gave him easy to meet incentives. They might also have increased his compensation in future years.

I later read that it's a lower base salary with incentives based on sacks. If met, the incentives would enable him to earn more than he would have earned under the old contract. Not sure how reachable the incentives are.

[Deputy Nutz]

He is getting a 4 million sack incentive but has to get double digit sacks.

I think a guy like Preston is needed, he so damn dependable and doesn't make stupid mistakes by getting pinned inside because he got greedy, like Z. Smith did over and over.

[Joemailman]

He is getting a 4 million sack incentive but has to get double digit sacks.

I think a guy like Preston is needed, he so damn dependable and doesn't make stupid mistakes by getting pinned inside because he got greedy, like Z. Smith did over and over.

Hopefully he won't turn into Z now that he can make millions more if he gets to double digit sacks.

[Deputy Nutz]

Gary restructured freeing up close to 5 million in cap space

[pittstang5]

He is getting a 4 million sack incentive but has to get double digit sacks.

I think a guy like Preston is needed, he so damn dependable and doesn't make stupid mistakes by getting pinned inside because he got greedy, like Z. Smith did over and over.

This! Has he missed a game since coming to GB? I can't think of anytime he did.

Didn't he twist his ankle or something this past season and still played the next week.

Glad he's sticking around.

[Fritz]

He is getting a 4 million sack incentive but has to get double digit sacks.

I think a guy like Preston is needed, he so damn dependable and doesn't make stupid mistakes by getting pinned inside because he got greedy, like Z. Smith did over and over.

As a guy with the moniker "Deputy Nutz" you clearly understand the importance of a sack.

I don't think Preston Smith will be like Z was. Seems like a different dude altogether.

[Joemailman]

According to Tom Silverstein Packers are talking to Aaron Jones' agent (Drew Rosenhaus), and Packers are not expected to bring back AJ Dillon.

[Fritz]

According to Tom Silverstein Packers are talking to Aaron Jones' agent (Drew Rosenhaus), and Packers are not expected to bring back AJ Dillon.

He seems like a good guy, Dillon, and I wish him well. But as a fan, I'm glad they're not bringing him back. He seems like just a guy - they ought to be able to draft someone who can - or can learn - to do the things he does, maybe a bit better. And maybe not have to spend a second-round pick to do it.

[ThunderDan]

He seems like a good guy, Dillon, and I wish him well. But as a fan, I'm glad they're not bringing him back. He seems like just a guy - they ought to be able to draft someone who can - or can learn - to do the things he does, maybe a bit better. And maybe not have to spend a second-round pick to do it.

Completely agree. Great Packer person but production went down year after year. Maybe sign him to a vet minimum deal if they don’t draft or sign someone else they think can do the job.

[sharpe1027]

Completely agree. Great Packer person but production went down year after year. Maybe sign him to a vet minimum deal if they don’t draft or sign someone else they think can do the job.

Agree. He peaked early and hasn't improved since. Probably regressed even.

[Joemailman]

This would surprise a lot of people.


Matt Schneidman
@mattschneidman

Packers starting RG Jon Runyan Jr. is set to be a UFA and switched his agent to Drew Rosenhaus. Per source, Rosenhaus met with Packers brass in Indianapolis and there is mutual interest in Runyan remaining a Packer. Would have to be right price for both sides, of course.

[run pMc]

This would surprise a lot of people.

would be a mild surprise. I don't think it happens before the draft, and depends on price.
He was bad the first half of the season but improved when they brought Rhyan in for competition. By end of season Runyan was outplaying Rhyan.
GB does not have OL depth if they let Bakhtiari & Njiman walk and cut Newman (saves them 2-3M in cap space).

They need to get better at C & RG so I'm kind of meh about it. Doesn't move the needle a lot, which makes me question it. Don't settle for JRJ unless all the good IOL are drafted.

[Joemailman]

would be a mild surprise. I don't think it happens before the draft, and depends on price.
He was bad the first half of the season but improved when they brought Rhyan in for competition. By end of season Runyan was outplaying Rhyan.
GB does not have OL depth if they let Bakhtiari & Njiman walk and cut Newman (saves them 2-3M in cap space).

They need to get better at C & RG so I'm kind of meh about it. Doesn't move the needle a lot, which makes me question it. Don't settle for JRJ unless all the good IOL are drafted.

I think they're really short on depth so I don't really think signing Runyan would necessarily affect whether they draft IOL. So I think they could sign him before the draft. Runyan will want to see what his market value is first though.

[Deputy Nutz]

According to Tom Silverstein Packers are talking to Aaron Jones' agent (Drew Rosenhaus), and Packers are not expected to bring back AJ Dillon.

Dillion is way more productive as a featured back. When Jones was out I thought Dillion handled the role well. I think we expect him to be this smashmouth type player because of his size and strength but that has never been the case at the LOS he doesn't move the pile forward. He is work bringing back at a Packer friendly contract, but I think other teams will think like I do and sign him to a decent contract that will never pay off for either player or team

[run pMc]

Dillion is way more productive as a featured back. When Jones was out I thought Dillion handled the role well.

Why do you think this?
Dillon averaged 3.4 ypc and 2TD
Jones was much better as a featured back - he got 2 TD in the first game.

I think Dillon would be a fine RB3 - 3rd down packages where he could run, catch or pass protect. I wish he was better at short yardage, but honestly you can often do just as well in short yardage or goal line situations with a smaller slithery guy like Jones.
Dillon will get interest and I'd be a surprised if he didn't get a contract somewhere, but he's not feature back material. He does a lot of the little things well but he's not dynamic, his numbers have declined each year, and he came out of BC with a lot of wear and tear already. I don't think he has anymore ceiling than what he is.

If they bring him back I wouldn't want it to be for a lot of money. I don't think they will because RBs are everywhere and cheap. Barkley, Jacobs, Ekeler, Pollard, Dobbins, and more are FA as well - why spend that FA money when you can draft guys and spend your FA money on a safety.

[Deputy Nutz]

I didn't say he was more productive as Jones.

[sharpe1027]

Dillion is way more productive as a featured back. When Jones was out I thought Dillion handled the role well. I think we expect him to be this smashmouth type player because of his size and strength but that has never been the case at the LOS he doesn't move the pile forward. He is work bringing back at a Packer friendly contract, but I think other teams will think like I do and sign him to a decent contract that will never pay off for either player or team

He does tend to do better when he gets more carries, but even then it's not been all that great. Maybe it's partly the offensive line and he'll do better elsewhere.

[Joemailman]

Dillon's YPC have gone down each year. While the OL might not have been up to Packers normal standards the 1st half of the year, it wasn't that bad either. A JAG like Patrick Taylor average 4.4 YPC, a full yard per carry better than Dillon. Maybe he's just not a good fit for this offense. Time to move on.

[run pMc]

I don't think Dillon's struggles were all his fault, the OL was unsettled to start and got better down the stretch. However, whether that was in Game 1 or later in the year, there's a clear difference in how much more productive Jones was than Dillon.

At the end of the day it's JMHO that Dillon was not productive as a featured back. (There are stats/metrics to back that opinion up though. :) ) I used Jones as comparison because he was the preferred feature back for GB.

[Frozen Tundra]

I think they're really short on depth so I don't really think signing Runyan would necessarily affect whether they draft IOL. So I think they could sign him before the draft. Runyan will want to see what his market value is first though.

But it could have a considerable impact on which one(s) thay draft, and in which round(s).

[QBME]

Didn't know exactly where to post this, or how (obviously), and I thought another poster would have been all over it.
In any case, the results of the poll conducted by the inmates:
(Pack comes in at 3rd place overall)
https://nflpa.com/nfl-player-team-report-cards-2024

[Joemailman]

Didn't know exactly where to post this, or how (obviously), and I thought another poster would have been all over it.
In any case, the results of the poll conducted by the inmates:
(Pack comes in at 3rd place overall)
https://nflpa.com/nfl-player-team-report-cards-2024

One thing it shows is that players tend to like their head coach. MLF got a B+ grade, but that only ranked 21st. Worst grade the Packers got was treatment of families. Lack of daycare support for children of players on game day was a big issue.

Most interesting team was the Chiefs. Absolutely love their head coach (A+), and hate just about everything else about the organization (D+ overall).

[QBME]

One thing it shows is that players tend to like their head coach. MLF got a B+ grade, but that only ranked 21st. Worst grade the Packers got was treatment of families. Lack of daycare support for children of players on game day was a big issue.

Most interesting team was the Chiefs. Absolutely love their head coach (A+), and hate just about everything else about the organization (D+ overall).
Winning fixes most everything.

[Joemailman]

Winning fixes most everything.

It also means that Andy can probably name his price.

[Fritz]

One thing it shows is that players tend to like their head coach. MLF got a B+ grade, but that only ranked 21st. Worst grade the Packers got was treatment of families. Lack of daycare support for children of players on game day was a big issue.

Most interesting team was the Chiefs. Absolutely love their head coach (A+), and hate just about everything else about the organization (D+ overall).

It's hard to hire daycare people right now. But the Packers should make a concerted effort to do that.

Wonder what area or areas kept MLF out of the "A" range?

[Joemailman]

It's hard to hire daycare people right now. But the Packers should make a concerted effort to do that.

Wonder what area or areas kept MLF out of the "A" range?

There were some issues that cropped up last year that we don't usually see with the Packers. They ended up trading Rasul who had expressed some frustration, had to suspend Jaire, and Campbell made some comments we don't usually see. Now the team did come together and had a great second half, and the survey was conducted from August to November 2023 so MLF may have made some improvements that are not reflected in the survey.

[call_me_ishmael]

Yeah that's pretty interesting, I always assumed MILF was a hardcore players coach like Reid.

[run pMc]

In addition to being really rich, owners are often pretty shitty and cheap. He WFT has sewage leaks in the weight room and other areas.

[Frozen Tundra]

In addition to being really rich, owners are often pretty shitty and cheap. He WFT has sewage leaks in the weight room and other areas.

Who does?

[texaspackerbacker]

Is that sewage leak thing some kind of metaphor? Or literally?

[Joemailman]

Is that sewage leak thing some kind of metaphor? Or literally?

There was a pipe burst at the stadium. Fans claimed it was sewage. The team claimed it was rainwater.

[Frozen Tundra]

There was a pipe burst at the stadium. Fans claimed it was sewage. The team claimed it was rainwater.

Where did this happen, though?

[Joemailman]

Where did this happen, though?

Fed Ex Field. Washington DC.

[Fritz]

In addition to being really rich, owners are often pretty shitty and cheap. He WFT has sewage leaks in the weight room and other areas.

I think that means Daniel Snyder had a leaky ass.

[run pMc]

Typo. Was supposed to say "The WFT has sewage leaks..."
Read the NLFPA survey results for the top and bottom teams, it's pretty interesting. QBME posted the link above.

[Joemailman]

Tom Silverstein
@TomSilverstein

Packers will create $10.5 million of salary cap space with release of inside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell on Wednesday https://jsonline.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/2024/03/10/green-bay-packers-to-cut-linebacker-devondre-campbell-create-salary-cap-space-next-week/72841050007/ via @journalsentinel

[Teamcheez1]

Campbell played well but faded this past year. Glad to see the front office making the right decision.

[Frozen Tundra]

That's money that's better spent on a free agent safety, but then at the same time still leaves us with a need at LB.

[texaspackerbacker]

It wouldn't take much to improve from the '23 version of Campbell. And $10.5m million cap space could get about a $70 or 80 million for 5 years Safety maximizing use of the cap - if somebody is worth it.

[Fritz]

I haven’t heard much about the free agent class at linebacker. Anybody have any insight, or random, unsupported, yet firmly held opinions on this topic?

[Joemailman]

Rob Demovsky
@RobDemovsky

Per sources, Packers have re-signed TE Tyler Davis, the backup/special teams ace who tore his ACL in the preseason last year. He’s expected to be ready for the start of training camp, if not sooner.

Packers ST coordinator Rich Bisaccia and coach Matt LaFleur love Davis.

[Sparkey]

Tom Silverstein
@TomSilverstein

Packers will create $10.5 million of salary cap space with release of inside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell on Wednesday https://jsonline.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/2024/03/10/green-bay-packers-to-cut-linebacker-devondre-campbell-create-salary-cap-space-next-week/72841050007/ via @journalsentinel

With a June 1 designation, so that cap space will not be available until later.

[run pMc]

the June 1 thing is surprising, I thought GB doesn't usually do that.

[Joemailman]

Now just 2 Ted Thompson Packers left. Kenny Clark and Aaron Jones.

[Joemailman]

We'll have to wait and see on this one.

Ian Rapoport
@RapSheet

The #Packers are expected to sign Josh Jacobs, source tell me and @TomPelissero.

[Fosco33]

Packers expected to sign Josh Jacobs… backup to Jones or hedge if he doesn’t restructure?

[King Friday]

Sounds like a good tandem. Jones is always on a pitch count, and Jacobs is a guy who is similar to Jones in style.

[Joemailman]

Looking like it's happening. Jacobs and Aaron Jones would be quite a backfield duo, assuming they keep Jones.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GIaJsBMWUAEGIao?format=jpg&name=small

[Joemailman]

Jacobs had an off year last year on a terrible Raiders offense, but was fantastic in 2022.

[Frozen Tundra]

Good-bye and good luck, AJ. Wish you the best with your new team.

EDit: I may have spoken too soon. I just looked up some numbers, and this dude made $11M last year. They're not adding that kind of payroll to back up Jones; I think they're replacing him.

[Joemailman]

Good-bye and good luck, AJ. Wish you the best with your new team.

EDit: I may have spoken too soon. I just looked up some numbers, and this dude made $11M last year. They're not adding that kind of payroll to back up Jones; I think they're replacing him.

They're not looking for a backup to Jones. They're looking for a tandem.

[Frozen Tundra]

They're not looking for a backup to Jones. They're looking for a tandem.

Is it worth upwards of $22M a year for those two?

[George Cumby]

Is it worth upwards of $22M a year for those two?

WR's and TE's on rookie contracts, I'm no capologist, but I think they've got room.

[King Friday]

If the Packers are making this move, they have already talked with Jones. I would expect he is willing to take a pay cut and get a deal that ensures he retires a Packer. The tandem role would actually extend Jones’ career, and provide coverage if either guy gets dinged.

Jones showed the value of a RB to this offense last year. The team can’t afford to not have a capable full service back available at all times.

[Frozen Tundra]

If the Packers are making this move, they have already talked with Jones. I would expect he is willing to take a pay cut and get a deal that ensures he retires a Packer. The tandem role would actually extend Jones’ career, and provide coverage if either guy gets dinged.

Jones showed the value of a RB to this offense last year. The team can’t afford to not have a capable full service back available at all times.

I hope you're right; this is one I'd sure love to be wrong about. There are other reasons, as well, that would really limit our options for moving Jones this week.

I'm just trying to figure out what the plan is for safety, if we're spending this much coin on another RB.

[Joemailman]

Is it worth upwards of $22M a year for those two?

We'll see how those contracts are structured.

[King Friday]

Is it worth upwards of $22M a year for those two?

Try going back and watching games 2-8 last season and you’ll get your answer.

[Joemailman]

Jon Runyan signs with Giants for 3 years, 30M, 17M guaranteed. Comp pick!

[Sparkey]

Savage signs with Jacksonville for 3 years.

[Joemailman]

So Packers have signed Jacobs and lost Runyan and Savage. Slightly ahead on the comp pick scoreboard.

[call_me_ishmael]

What in the world... why would you pay premium money for when you could get a guy on a rookie deal that does the same thing? RBs are a dime a dozen IMO. AJO is special, most are not.

[King Friday]

RBs are not a dime a dozen, especially in the Shanahan offense. The Packers are in win now mode, and putting all your eggs in an unproven rookie behind Jones, who is incredibly fragile, would be a huge risk.

[Frozen Tundra]

RBs are not a dime a dozen, especially in the Shanahan offense. The Packers are in win now mode, and putting all your eggs in an unproven rookie behind Jones, who is incredibly fragile, would be a huge risk.

It would appeat that that's exactly the way Gutekunst sees it too. This may tell us a lot about how seriously Gute is taking this off-season.

[George Cumby]

RBs are not a dime a dozen, especially in the Shanahan offense. The Packers are in win now mode, and putting all your eggs in an unproven rookie behind Jones, who is incredibly fragile, would be a huge risk.

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